What Youthlinc Taught Me About Discomfort

By: Sam Price

Walking the streets of Phnom Penn, fresh off grueling travel days, with unknown scents in the air and a cacophony of sounds from cars and bikes swerving past me was uncomfortable. The little restaurant we got to, with menus of mysterious items I never knew I never knew, felt intimidating and bizarre. Had I been alone, I might have felt overwhelmed, but, in a group of 20 people feeling the exact same things, all I could feel was excitement. If I could give advice to all first-year humanitarians, it would be to not feel threatened and really embrace the uncomfortable. 

It's natural to want to stay in the “in group,” home is safe, and familiarity feels best. Branching out and experiencing so many new things all at once is deeply frightening. Historically—not to sound grim—but leaving that familiar circle meant death. It might be your first time on a plane, first time out of the country, and you may think it's definitely going to be your last. But that's before the Youthlinc experience gets to you.  

You dive headfirst and steadfast into the unknown. You’re trying the new food, playing new games, meeting people’s eyes as you discover how differently yours see the world. The rush of adrenaline as you embrace a culture so disparate from your own feels like ruination. Things are happening you didn’t know could happen, but all of a sudden, your world is bigger. You might’ve gone into this thinking about the work and fun, but you’re not just working; you’re making new connections across the planet. 

Think about the six degrees of separation; any two people on Earth are connected by a chain of no more than six acquaintance links. Imagine how much your web has just grown, you’re so much better at that game.  

Before your Youthlinc trip, you might think living in the suburb with stocked grocery stores lined with thousands of products, private bedrooms that only you sleep in, is the comfortable, “proper” way to live.  And for you it is! This has been your entire life, so of course it's normal. And then you find yourself in the middle of a Cambodian house, no grocery store in sight, and everyone shares a bed. It is not “worse”, just different. But as you meet the people, they all seem so similar to you and suddenly, your world just shrank. Everyone wants the same simple things, security, connection, and love. And the way we go about achieving that looks a little bit different for someone just like you, who just grew up very far away. Youthlinc at once expanded and shrunk your world; we’re so similarly different. So, head up, shoulders back, as you lean into the uncomfortable, because the world is beautiful and people are good.