About me
My name is Ramya and I am a final year French and Marketing student. I finished my year abroad in Lyon, France this summer. During my time away, I wrote a blog about everything a student would need to know before going to France. I did this because I wish I had something like this before I left!
This is an excerpt from my blog about getting out of your comfort zone.
Arriving at my flat
When I first got to my flat in Lyon, I was actually terrified to leave my room and go to the kitchen when there were others there. I had convinced myself that my French was awful, so I didn't know what I would say to them and didn't want to seem silly. I genuinely did my very best to avoid any socialising for a good while. Looking back I shouldn't have but it just gave me the absolute fear.
One of my flatmates when we got close told me how she thought it was weird I hid away in my room and since I'm Scottish she thought I just sat in my room and got drunk alone all day. I laughed out loud at how ridiculous that was, but it just shows how closed off I was being.
An act of kindness
Since I had to be in Lyon for Christmas and New Year (due to Brexit and Covid), one of my flatmates very kindly invited me to a small Christmas celebration with her friends. (I have no idea why she did because I was the most closed off person ever, she was a very kind girl!)
Honestly, it took sooooo much convincing for me to go. I remember telling people back home about it and they all collectively had to hype me up so much to actually go. Just the thought of actually having to speak French and spend Christmas with people I had just met made me feel really anxious.
However, once I went, I was glad I did. Everyone was lovely and made me feel really welcome. Although it wasn't fully my type of scene, it was something new and I learned a lot.
Slowly after that, I actually came out my room more. We had a small New Years celebration at the flat. This is when I really got to chat to my other flatmates and realise that they were all really nice and understanding.
Words of advice
My point of this story is that it may not be instant for you to get out of your comfort zone and that's okay. But please do try to take any chance you get, and if you hate the experience at least you'll know you gave it a shot! It does get easier.
Learn from me and don't sit in your room moping about what you can't do. Put yourself out there and show what you can do! You'll surprise yourself, I am sure of it.