Last week I was at a Youth Council Meeting, confidently approaching people, introducing myself, telling them about what I do. And all I could think was much TCFT has helped me. TCFT was not only a learning experience, but it was also a growing experience for me, which pushed me out of my comfort zone on a number of occasions.
Coming out of my comfort zone allowed me to grow in confidence, which is something that I’ve needed to do for a long time, but have struggled with over the years. Different elements of TCFT helped me to develop my confidence by doing things that weren’t me or trying things that I’d never done before.
I performed my first ever spoken word piece, which was revealing and personal, making it an even greater achievement for me, because I get very nervous about opening up to people. Singing some of Ellie’s poetry as part of our collaboration with Naomi was a big step for me, as I hate singing in public, so I avoid solos at all costs.
Yet one of the biggest things for me was approaching new people, or people who were outside of my usual circle, and sitting with them at dinner. Approaching new people to introduce myself or engage in conversation with them is one of my biggest obstacles when in an unfamiliar environment, but TCFT helped me to overcome that and see that it’s not as scary as I thought. It also allowed me to develop friendships that I probably wouldn’t have had if I didn’t sit down to eat with those individuals.
I can look back over the whole experience and all of the new things I learnt, and see how much I’ve grown as a person. However, TCFT not only helped me to grow in confidence and as a person, but it also helped me to grow as a blogger and develop the journalistic side of my writing. It helped me to grow in a social setting and be more comfortable with being myself. It helped me to grow as a creative, but most of all, it helped me to grow as a leader by developing my abilities and my skills, which is vital as I work to set up my own youth organisation.
I’m hugely thankful to TCFT for helping me in so many different ways and providing me with a whole heap of opportunities, which I will treasure forever. If this first year alone was such an amazing, insightful, growing experience, then I can’t wait to see what next year will bring and what further progress I’ll make.