Leaving my shell by Jadan

Leaving my shell by Jadan - April 2026 Scholarship Essay

Throughout my life, I have always been described as quiet and shy, but personally I have always preferred to stay to myself. As a result of this I have realized that I have missed a lot of opportunities preventing me from achieving my full potential.
In the next few years, I hope to master the skill of being able to initiate a conversation with strangers and be easily able to build relationships with people. I hope to be able to go into a room and have the confidence to start a conversation no matter who’s in the room without being worried. And I believe in order to be successful I need to overcome my shyness to unlock new opportunities.
To make this a reality, I plan to start slowly by simply talking to people within close proximity, those sitting beside me in class. I plan to initiate conversation with my classmates by simply asking about their day or if they have plans. Doing this will allow me to become less anxious as I’ll have some familiarity with these people.
Additionally, I plan to join clubs within my university that not only correspond to my major but also to what I’m interested in. By being around people that share similar interests as I do, I believe it would be easier to make a conversation as we’re all interested in the same topic and are willing to learn more will cause the conversation to flow naturally.
By talking to my classmates and being in clubs, I hope to be able to initiate more conversations, build my confidence, leave my shell and be more talkative which will allow more doors to open.