From Fear of the Unknown to Personal Growth

My entire life, I grew up in my neighborhood of Valencia: daycare, school, high school… always with the same people and the same environment. I’d never had to face the unknown alone.

The time came when high school ended, and I had to take a huge leap: going to university. For me, it was a huge change. I spent the summer feeling very worried and anxious about what I was going to find: how others would see me, what they would think of me, how I would act, if I would fit in… The first year was tough: I made myself small and sometimes tried to be someone I wasn’t. To fit in, I sometimes did things I didn’t really want to do, and I struggled to say no. Until I realized that I didn’t need to pretend; that by being myself, I could truly connect.

At university, there was also something I dreaded: presentations. Every semester, we had to present projects in English, and that made me incredibly nervous. I worried about making mistakes, speaking the language poorly, or not sounding as confident as my classmates. I constantly compared myself to others and always thought they were doing better than me. Little by little, I began to understand that making mistakes is part of the process and that the important thing wasn’t being perfect, but trying. With each presentation, I gained a little more confidence.

Over time, I felt freer, with friends who accepted me as I was. That gave me the strength to dare to do an Erasmus program in Paris: fear of new things, yes, but also the certainty that I could handle it. It was one of the best experiences of my life.

When I finished college, another challenge arose: an internship. I was looking for something administrative and relaxing, but instead, the opportunity that appeared was in sales, dealing directly with clients and facing the public. I thought it wasn’t for me. However, I dared to try it and discovered a world that I not only enjoyed, but that helped me grow much more than I imagined.

Today, looking back, I realize that all those scary moments were also the ones that transformed me the most. Entering university, facing presentations, moving to another country, accepting an internship that seemed impossible… They were all steps that took me out of my comfort zone and made me trust myself.

Fear will always be there, but it’s often a sign that what’s coming can change you for the better.

I like these types of activities because they invite us to reflect on moments that were troubling in our lives and to recognize how we’ve dealt with them and what we’ve learned from them. It’s a way to look inward, understand ourselves better, and appreciate the personal growth we’ve achieved along the way.