Change.

That word is so often met with frustrated sighs and sometimes even with panic-driven crying. It is just not something that comes easy to people.

Despite this, whether I like to admit it or not, I find myself craving change.

At the beginning of this year, I felt like I was needing a change. As I was ending of my undergraduate in architecture and was creeping up to graduation, I got the sinking feeling that my network had been maxed out. I had done the college thing, met amazing people, learned so many things, and had so many new experiences. So what next?

Change.

Sometimes change is controlled, and you know what is next and when it is coming, for better or for worse. Other times, change comes up out of now where. The deer in the headlights type. This unplanned change can be the most fun. (Call me crazy, I know).

But unplanned change is what brought me to Challenge Detroit, to new adventures, and new self-discoveries.

So if change has taught me anything this past year it’s this:

Change lets you discover new people. Break out of comfort zones and find new networks. Take a chance to discover your passions – odds are there are people that share those same passions. Even better than finding people with similar passions however, is getting to know people who don’t. Even these first few months of being with my fellow Fellows of Challenge Detroit, has opened my mind to so much that the world has to offer through the people that embrace its differences. It’s a beautiful thing to change your perspective.

Change helps you discover new places in familiar places. For me, this new place is really the same place: Detroit. However, the Detroit I knew (or thought I knew) before beginning the fellowship with Challenge Detroit is not the same Detroit I experience now and it is certainly not the Detroit I will get to know when the fellowship is over. Detroit offers so much to discover: from its people, to its history and current battles with racial and socio-economic issues, to even the countless restaurants and local businesses that have been there for years or are just getting started. It doesn’t matter where you go, but if you take a break from a routine place, you never know where you will end up. You might just find yourself eating a fantastically yummy breakfast.

Change proves that you are never stuck. Whether mentally or physically, the feeling of being stuck is hard to get out of. But it can always change. Sometimes it is a divine change that you know is meant to be the minute it smacks you. Other times, you just have to be the change and pull yourself up. Early this year, I found myself stuck in stereotypes of my field of study, my health, and my own abilities. Then along came change.

So what’s next?