Inevitably, the first couple weeks of college every year are about some comfort-zone expansion. Talking to strangers, entering the rooms of strangers, eating the cookies of strangers...and somewhere along the line, the line itself blurs and these strangers become new friends. But as these strangers become friends, would-be friends are once again mere strangers, and your comfort zone shrinks back down again.

And then it kinda stays there for the rest of the year. Or four years.

But I'm here to sing the praises of regular, intentional comfort-zone departure. What this does:

It expands your comfort zone
Your heart used to get all pitter-pattery at the thought of talking to a classmate you didn't know, or at least you used to feel apathetic about it and reluctant to talk to someone who could turn out to be a really great friend or at least study-buddy. But comfort-zone departure is like a muscle--the more you work it, the stronger it gets. Eventually it's not even a big deal to strike up a conversation with a strange (smelling?) dude on the city bus on your way downtown.

It increases your apprecation for all kinds of people
It's a lot easy to be prejudiced against people--in fact I would argue that this is the only way you can be prejudiced against people--if you don't see them as people. But when the strange dude on the COTA bus whips out his wallet and shows you a picture of his nieces, suddenly it doesn't matter so much how he smells. This goes for people of all ethnicities, cultures, socioeconomic statuses, and purse-brands (especially the good ones).

It can pique interests in new things
Maybe smelly city bus guy next tells you about CABS (Columbus Area Boardgame Society, detailed in another entry :D) ... and if you're anything like me, it actually sounds intriguing. Maybe you check it out? Maybe a new hobby is born? Who knows, maybe Quidditch Club or Fiber Arts Club would really be your thing? College is a really great time to explore these pet interests, and maybe even begin hobbies that will bring you happiness for the rest of your life.
 

So me. What do I do to intentionally displace myself? I volunteer at Rahab's Hideaway, a halfway house for human traffkicking victims around Columbus. And wow, is it displacing. I used to go thinking I was somehow offering something to the girls by teaching them to knit and hanging out with them...but the truth is, what they've given to me far exceeds any paltry gifts I might have to offer them. I've learned so much about African-American culture, about life on the street, and about making plastic lacing bracelets...among other things...that I would never have learned without this consistent, regular awkwardness. It's the best.

What's holding you back? Go be awkward today. :)