KE staff members write about going outside of their comfort zones

“Newspaper, center of the field. Everyone else, sideline,” Coach Hanks barked as the captains finished leading the football team in stretches. Looking around, I realized I was the only person on the team not wearing red, white, or gray. I was wearing a solid blue sweatshirt which, apparently, isn’t ok to wear to football practice. After lecturing the team about letting someone onto the field ...

The Knight Errant challenged its staff writers to try something that would take us out of our comfort zone.  Jackson Williams and I decided to dress up for five days in a row at school.  Sports coat, ties, dress shirt, the works.  It would be a test of our ability to not sweat, a test of our ability to use the bathroom without making a mess of ourselves, and a test of our ability to eat without s...

Picture this: you’re sitting at lunch, having a conversation with your friends, when a person walks up to you. They ask to sit down in an empty spot nearby; you let them. Why not? They sit down and start eating. You continue your discussion. After a moment, you notice that the new person’s listening in on your conversation. They’re not really saying anything, just eating and listening. It’s aw...

OLIVIA POHLEN Blending in. While many teenagers strive to find out who they are during their high school years and often branch out into new territories whether in sports, activities, or even the way they dress and express themselves, I have always been one to stick to what I know. Since the young age of 10 when I started playing on a new soccer team and absolutely dreaded the idea of being in a ...

They say ‘you never realize what you have until it’s gone’, and now I can attest to this. I thought that going a full week without eating anything with added sugars would be a piece of cake, but I was mistaken. The first day I felt excited and motivated to begin this challenge. My new diet was going to have to consist of a lot of fruits, vegetables, and other organic foods. I started my day...

The hardest thing for me during this assignment was to stay positive and be myself. For the past six years, my security blanket has been my 30-minute morning routine of mascara, concealer, and foundation, and without it, I found myself looking at the floor, avoiding eye contact, and feeling completely naked. This week was a moment I had been fearing for almost half of my life, a week in which I woul...

In an outspoken world, it’s a rare moment when one can find ease in shutting up. I chose to spend a week chasing that ease. I never did find it. I began my time outside of my comfort zone on a school field trip. It had been decided that I was not to speak out on any issue, lead anyone else, or declare my opinion in any way. I was confident that I was up to the task as I boarded the bus to the ...

ABBY LETSCHER One of the very first things I do in the morning is check my phone. However, when I wake up, my screen isn’t only filled with Snapchats and texts, it is flooded with news alerts from CNN, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and several others, all telling me notable events either nationally or internationally that happened while I was sleeping. After catching up on these aler...

I tend not to post on social media accounts because I have attended the speakers who warn me about my “digital footprint” and have no interest in sharing what I did each day or what I had for lunch. Twitter and Instagram seem like futile attempts to gain attention, and while this may not be true, I have never understood the appeal. Stepping out of my comfort zone, however, I decided to join the ...

For the past four years at BSM, I have never participated in a sport and, as a result, I have had no motivation to workout. As someone who has a high metabolism and can eat whatever I want without gaining weight, the thought of working out rarely crosses my mind; I’d rather sit on my couch, watch endless reruns of Friends, and eat a bag of chips than run on my rusty old treadmill that looks like i...

An everyday struggle of going from class to class throughout my entire high school career is the discomfort I feel with participating regularly in class. I’ve been told by my parents and teachers alike that I have a naturally quiet voice and demeanor, and I often can’t think of anything interesting to contribute to classroom discussion, so the idea of spending a week making an effort to contri...

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