Stepping out of your comfort zone isn’t an easy thing to do, especially if you’re anything like me. I worry about everything and always expect the worst so trying something new and not knowing what to expect is one of the worst feelings in the world. It’s always worse in your head and once you start over thinking, there is no going back.

I got the opportunity to do work experience in London for the week at Closer magazine, even though I was over the moon that I had been given the chance to step into the magazine industry, I was so nervous about starting let alone travelling to London on my own.

Travelling on public transport is something that I don’t do very often anyway but for the past two weeks I have had to travel every day, all the way to London during rush hour. I had never been on a train on my own before and so going all the way to London and back on my own was a very daunting experience. Feeling very alone made me extremely nervous about the thought of getting lost. I tried not to think about it but it was hard not to.

By the end of my first week I had learnt not to make eye contact with people on the train and if you smile at strangers don’t expect to get one back. London commuters are very grumpy and tired. Getting a seat is a challenge and you will do anything in your power to make sure you have one. I have sat opposite a man who fell asleep and started snoring, a very nosey man who liked looking over the shoulder of the man standing next to him who was texting and a scary old woman who stared me out (hence the no eye contact rule).

I have also learnt that it isn’t as scary as you think it will be and you will feel so proud that you have overcome something you thought you’d never be able to do. It just goes to show that taking chances pays off.You have to experience as much as possible and by taking risks and going out of your comfort zone you are more likely to achieve things that you thought would never actually happen.

Playing it safe isn’t always the best option. Life can get very repetitive which can become mundane. Change is good, we shouldn’t always worry about what’s to come, just go with the flow and see what happens because more likely than not it will end up benefiting you and you’ll be glad you put yourself out there.

I also ended up going back for my second week of work experience as I had been asked to go back, it was such an amazing opportunity and I’m so lucky to be able to get a look at what it would be like to work there. It makes the thought of my dream career that little bit more likely and less like a dream.

“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” – A perfect quote to describe that taking chances is a good thing and more good will come out of it than bad.