I am a fifteen year old girl and I attended high school as a freshman in Piedmont Oklahoma, I am writing an essay for my English class on empathy. Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve been pushed out of your comfort zone? Pushing someone out of their comfort zone is never okay, it makes that person uncomfortable and puts them in a position that they most likely don't want to be in.

As I pushed Isabella further and further out of her comfort zone, I started to notice how uncomfortable she was and I decided that I needed to talk to her about her distress. When Isabella and I started to talk about her comfort zone and how I pushed her out of hers, a fiery argument began. I believe that you should be outgoing and be comfortable around anyone, as if you’ve known them your entire life, if they don't like you, that’s their choice. Isabella had the opposite point of view.

At first, I took the side of outgoing and comfortable because that is the type of person I am. Being worried about what others think of you and not letting it make you uncomfortable is difficult, but you should be confident in yourself when being around or doing something that is unusual for you. Meeting new people and doing new things should be a good experience and not one where you should feel like you need to be small and trapped inside a shell.

Isabella, on the other hand, made some very good points for her side that helped me understand where she was coming from. Continuing to make exceptionally good points, Isabella told me how she felt that your comfort zone is not a choice on how big or small it is, that it is not something you can controll. She also told me how being pushed outside of her comfort zone made her feel, she told me it made her uncomfortable and that it made her trust me less, and that hurt my heart. Isabella said to me, “You are my friend, I should be able to trust you and you should never make me feel uncomfortable.” She made me realize how I was wrong in telling her she should be able to step out of her comfort zone without a problem.

Furthermore, After talking with Isabella I had a new understanding on how you should respect others boundaries and to never push them past them without consent. Now that I know how I made Isabella feel, I definitely look at her different, I respect her and her boundries more. I have learned that pushing people out of their comfort zones is never okay and can put them in situations that they don't want to be in.