This semester, I took a theater class. When sharing with my friends and family what classes I would be taking this semester, everyone was shocked when I said I was taking a theater class. Honestly, so was I. I have never really been into acting at all, except for when I played the Ace of Spades in my elementary school production of “Alice in Wonderland.” Acting has never been my thing, or even of much interest to me. However, my college program requires us to take either Public Speaking or a theater class called Voice and Diction. I decided to take Voice and Diction without really knowing anything about it other than the fact that it sounded way more fun than Public Speaking (another area that is definitely not my strong suit). So, truthfully, I didn’t choose to take this class out of pure fun. But I am really glad I did.
We are all aware that being in college is expensive. And most of us want to get in, get a degree and get out. So we take the classes we need just to get by. However, there is so much more to life and college than just doing what you “have to.” For most of us, college is an opportunity to expand our interests, to find out what we do and don’t like. I came into college having no idea what I even wanted to study, and honestly, I’m glad because I was able to take a bunch of random classes during my freshman year in the hopes of figuring out what I wanted to do. Taking these “random” classes ultimately lead me to my current major, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, which I am so passionate about. If I hadn’t had the opportunity to explore my interests by taking a bunch of different classes, I don’t know that I would have ended up where I am. Even if you do know what you want to study, why limit yourself to just taking the classes you are required to? If you have the time, push yourself out of your comfort zone and take a theater class, or an environmental science course or a cooking class. Find what excites your mind and follow it!
Although the semester isn’t quite over, I have surprised myself with how much I have learned and grown just by taking this theater class. I have met people I probably never would have otherwise and become good friends with many of them as well. I have learned how to speak in an Irish accent and have performed several monologues in front of an audience, something I never, ever thought I would do. A lot of what we have done in this class has made me uncomfortable, such as singing a line of any song in front of the whole class (I can’t sing), or making my voice as loud as possible by screaming with all the air in my lungs. But growing is always going to be uncomfortable. I am so much more confident in so many different areas than I was just a few months ago solely because I have been pushed out of my comfort zone in this class.
This isn’t just an act of persuasion to get you to take Voice and Diction–but if you want to, you definitely should. Hopefully this inspires you to seek out new experiences, whether that is through taking a new class or not. Get comfortable with the uncomfortable!