One of the things they always tell you when you come to college is to try new things. 

That advice is great for some people to hear, but for me it didn’t hold a lot of weight. Coming into college I had a great idea of who I was, because in high school I had a lot of opportunities to try new things and figure out who I was as a person. 

These vast options I had in high school, while they were great at the time, may have hurt me negatively in the long run. 

My time on campus hanging around the same group of people, and honestly the North Wind and my day job are my only “extracurricular activities.” Getting out and trying new things can be difficult, and now that I’m an adult it’s even harder. It also doesn’t help that I’m one of the most anxious people on the planet and trying new things is something that makes me anxious. 

The other week I tried something new. 

I know, hold your applause it’s not that big of a feat.

I’ve never watched anime before, but last week me and my friends went to go watch Demon Slayer in the movie theater. 

Going into the movie I was a little nervous because I didn’t know any of the lore, and I didn’t think I was going to like it. 

After finally sitting down and watching the movie, I’m really glad that I didn’t wimp out and be the only one to not attend. Although I didn’t understand every aspect of the movie, I think I followed it very well for what knowledge I had, and it was a good excuse to get out of the house and spend time with people who mean a lot to me, while watching something that means something to them. 

Looking back at it I don’t understand why I was so stressed about going and seeing a movie in a style that I wasn’t used to. I’m actually quite excited for the next one to come out because I’ve been sucked into this universe I didn’t even know existed a month ago. 

I want to use this experience and apply it to other places in my life. This summer I took a lot of time exploring myself. While doing this my main focus was doing things on my own, but I mainly explored things I already knew by myself. This experience makes me want to continue my self growth to new places I’ve never explored before. 

I tend to go to the same places, stores and hiking trails, but now I want to see what the new Megan can get up to in places or doing things she doesn’t know already. 

I know there’s a lot of anxious people out there like me, maybe even reading this. If I can tell you one thing, it’s that trying new things is only scary for a few seconds, and then once you get adjusted to your new surroundings things are smooth sailing.