Blondies Good Bad and Ugly

Ever since I was a little girl, I had this yearning to travel. I wanted to go everywhere, nothing was too far. I would tell my parents about my wild dreams from the pyramids of Egypt to the palaces in Europe. I just wanted to go places and see the world. Japan, as you can imagine, was overwhelming in the best way possible. I got to see and do so much, make new friends and even connect with old ones. At the end of every night, I got to thank God that I was living out those dreams of seeing the world. 

When people ask me about my study abroad, the first thing that comes to mind is the sense of independence I felt. I don’t quite know how to put it into words, and even if I could I’m not sure I could explain in a way they wouldn’t understand. There is nothing like being a 22-year-old girl experiencing a foreign country for the first time. 

Japan has much more to offer than beautiful scenery, temples and rich culture. While I was grateful to experience much of this, it also taught me a lesson I will never forget. 

Within my first week abroad, I realized that it is not uncommon to see people do things alone in Japan. As a woman growing up in America, I was told to do the exact opposite. I always heard: “never go out by yourself”, “two together is better than one alone” or “be aware of your surroundings”. I found myself nervous to go anywhere alone as I got older, I almost always wanted someone to be with me. I would have never sat down at a restaurant to eat by myself. 

However, in Japan, restaurants are full of tables for one. As a foreigner, I knew I wanted to embrace the culture while visiting. It wasn’t until I was actively trying to do so that I realized how uncomfortable I was. For nearly four weeks I embraced the uncomfortable. I sat with it while I had breakfast, I walked with it to the bus stop and I sat with it on the train rides. I even found my way to and through an airport in Osaka to fly to Okinawa, a Japanese island, by myself. 

Eventually, I sat with it long enough to know that if I was always comfortable, I wouldn’t be growing. As an American woman who has plans of seeing more of the world one day, it was critical that I learned this lesson now. In a country like Japan that is full of tables for one, it’s easy to request one. The new challenge now will be to sit with that discomfort again in a country that taught me the opposite. 

Japan helped me learn that growth happens when you step out of the comfortable and sit with the uncomfortable. Although it is safe and feels like home, your comfort zone is going to hold you back from the person you want to be.