Have you ever been asked or asked yourself the question "When is the last time you did something for the first time?" I was asked this question about a year ago by a fellow Florida Gulf Coast University student and little did I know that this question, to this day, would challenge me to be more assertive and confident.

I believe my first response to the question was that I had recently taken a trip to a state that I had never been to before. Except, this trip, at the time, had taken place about three months prior. My mind was quickly rattled as I couldn't think of a single new thing that I had done within the last month, let alone the last two. The longer and longer I scrambled through the inner workings of my mind the more I began to question myself and all that I do. After a considerable amount of deep thought all I could come up with was how, for the first time the day before, I had upgraded the wheels on my longboard and loosened the trucks. To be more specific, all I did was take my board to a shop where I picked out some wheels and had the trucks loosened for me…

It was then that it was made clear to me that I was tip toeing through life as I was fearful of trying something new, something I had never done before. I was fearful because of the uncertainty thereof. I didn't know what would happen. I didn't know what to expect. When it came to the possibility of doing something new I wound up asking myself questions such as "What if I fail?" or "What if I get hurt?" These questions and the thoughts that came with them only fueled my fear and it was this fear that was keeping me "safe" and "secure" within the constricting confines of my comfort zone.

But the "safety" and "security" of my comfort zone wasn't allowing me to grow as an individual. How was I to gain new perspectives and expand upon my knowledge if I wasn't challenging myself to venture out of my comfort zone? I had already gained as much as I could from the things I had already experienced and the only way I was going to gain more was if I started to do new things.

So, I challenged myself to be more fearless and to not think too much about the uncertainty of new experiences. I told myself that this fear and worry, aside from making sure I think things through before I do something, was of no use to me if I allowed it to prevent me from trying new things altogether.

Since the time I challenged myself, I have tried a plethora of new things and continuously strive to do so as I have been conditioned to ask myself “When is the last time you did something for the first time?” As a matter of fact, as I write this article, I am doing something for the first time. Prior to this moment I had never written an article as a staff writer for a social content platform.

I have fallen in love with trying new things: doing something for the first time. As an individual, I’ve grown tremendously with each new experience and you can too. With each new experience comes newfound knowledge and wisdom. It is because of the growth I’ve gained after being asked this question that I now ask you, when is the last time you did something for the first time? And thus, I challenge you to be more assertive and confident when it comes to trying something new.