A Life of Discomfort

Moving in before attending the last orientation and frog camp, I quite literally knew nobody on campus. That changed within hours, however, as I wander downstairs and immediately got roped into a Target outing. I would soon find out that these extra-friendly residents in my dorm were far from unusual, as I have now discovered the campus culture to be welcoming, vibrant, and uplifting. One thing that particularly made TCU feel like home for me, were the RAs who made moving in less stressful and helped us negotiate the transition into college over the next few days. Two RA’s specifically mentioned a program they thought I should apply for. Having never heard of the experience-oriented program, I initially wrote it off in the back of my mind as another thing I’d get to eventually. The more I learned and heard from the Familia, the more I realized how much the program aligned with how I wanted to approach not only my college experience but my life.

To understand how I happened upon my life motto, and ended up at TCU I must first go back in time to just before one of the most transformative events of my life. Before TCU was even on my radar, I was convinced that the Naval Academy was where I would attend college. I had raced triathlons throughout high school and was pursuing the prestigious Navy team. The year-long admissions process ended abruptly after months of interviews, tests, and meetings when a medical test came back with a crushing result—disqualified. I felt lost, confused, and angry all at once that my plans had been snatched away from me. Six months later, at my parents suggestion, I would board a plane to Brazil (where my father is originally from) and leave to spend the next three months. I became immersed in a new culture quickly and spent time every week volunteering with an organization to serve children in the areas of extreme poverty known as favelas. Interacting with these children and seeing how grateful and content they were, despite living conditions most people in America would be shocked to hear still exist, caused my outlook to change completely.

Prompted by these thoughts, I began an introspective journey over the remaining two months in self-identity, family, relationships, and religion. One particular thought I absorbed was the motto “seek discomfort.” I came to realize that the times when we experience growth at exponential rates far beyond what we believe possible, are when we step outside the bounds of the known. By seeking situations that are far from your comfort zone, you learn the power of adaptability and spontaneity as well as the potential of the word “yes”. The youtube channel that I stole this motto from, Yes Theory, changed how I viewed life and taking risks such as applying to a school that I happened upon just days before my flight. A campus tour— that I only took since I was driving to Fort Worth to get a yellow fever shot before travel— prompted me to send in an application from abroad. It was with this attitude of pushing myself that I accepted the invitation to attend TCU.

Understandably, when I discovered that the program my RAs mentioned was far more than a trip abroad, I became intrigued. During the application process, I simply told my story of growth and expressed how much it would mean for another opportunity to challenge myself. While my time in Brazil came with massive growth, it took an investment of time and left me emotionally drained. Cultural Routes seemed like exactly the place where the reward of being all in and pushing the boundary of discomfort would pay off massively in terms of personal growth.

I was driving down a back-country road when the message on my apple watch popped up notifying me that I had received an email from JVR Honors Exploration. My heart began racing as I contemplated opening it. I prepared myself for the disappointment as I glanced down and began reading the email. By the time I had opened the link, I’d convinced myself that I had not made the cut. Reminding myself that I gave it my best effort and failure was not something to be ashamed of, I proceeded. As fireworks popped on my screen I hurled a yell of pure ecstasy out my open window to the dirt road and passing cows that had the pleasure of sharing my excitement. After collecting myself I called my mother to tell her the news before rushing the rest of the way home. I ran through the door with my video camera on to send to Dr. P. the excitement and energy at the dinner table that night.

My goal for the trip is to keep pushing myself to continue learning not only about how I function internally, but how I interact with others, including various cultures. I hope to catalog my memories not only in these blogs but also in photos that capture the moment. Photography, a new passion I began in the spirit of trying new things in college, will help portray moments where words fall short. My hope is to combine these two mediums to document my realizations and growth on the trip that I can point to in the future when posed with the question many of us dread or may still be answering to ourselves. “Who are you?”

I want to be able to answer confidently that I am someone who seeks discomfort above all else, someone who is not content with settling. Someone who realizes going forward, that being all in is not just a mindset for this experience, but an addition to my way of life.

David de Oliveira

~ Seek Discomfort / All In

“I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. out on the edge you can see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center”

-Kurt Vonnegut