Ever since I started my master’s program in occupational therapy, I’ve been a bit daunted by the overwhelming amount of presentations. Public speaking has always been a struggle for me and last semester was filled with lots of dreadful, heart-pumping, anxiety-provoking moments. There’s one presentation in particular where I literally thought I was going to pass out. Yes it was that bad. Yikes. This semester though, I sought to conquer those fears or lessen them at the very least. Those feelings of dread crept up on me a couple weeks ago when my group just so happened to be the first presentation of the semester. Although I began looking at the presentation date as doomsday, I soon started becoming familiar with my topic. After completely digesting the info and composing a Powerpoint, I started practicing my speech. And practicing. And filming myself. And getting more familiar with the material. By the time doomsday came around, I wasn’t so nervous anymore. Now I wouldn’t say I was looking forward to the presentation but miraculously I got up there and I was calm, cool, & confident. I felt like I had nailed the project, a feeling I hadn’t at all experienced during the first semester. And that feeling was empowering. It made me think about the last several years of my life and how afraid I was of making a change, facing fears, and getting out of my comfort zone. Although I struggled often last semester, there was a lot of strength that came out of that struggle and for that I am grateful. My plan going forward is to get comfortable being uncomfortable because this is where the magic happens.