At Masters, students are expected to step out of their comfort zone and do what’s right. Students are often outspoken, and their transparency and candor make them even more admirable. In my experience at Masters, there is a culture of outspoken students being revered for the content they deliver and how well they deliver it. Stepping out of a comfort zone is something that is encouraged and happens often at Masters.

There is a special environment at Masters that pushes students to grow and try new things. When I reflect on my growth since I came to Masters, I think I’m more comfortable with myself and I’m less fearful to say what I think, even if it’s against a popular opinion. Yet, I wonder if this is because the Masters environment fosters a culture that even if someone has the unpopular opinion, at least they’re able to say it aloud in front of others that disagree. This might not hold true for other students, but to me, I think this idea provides comfort.

Thinking back on my middle school years, the public school I went to had more than 300 kids in my grade and I only talked to 30 or 40 of them. I voiced my opinion openly to my friends and acquaintances, but the rest of my grade felt out of reach or irrelevant to me. I didn’t feel comfortable expressing thoughts to people outside my own friends.

Now, I say things that sometimes make me uncomfortable to voice and I recognize that it can mean it’s even more important to voice. It might be because of growth in character, it might be due to change in environment, but it’s probably both.

The Masters bubble allows me to feel safer and more open than how I feel other places. Because of that, I can say what I want freely (of course, nothing that discriminates against others). I’ve developed confidence in discussing issues and acting on that, at Masters. I hope I can take that elsewhere, but it will be easier said than done. Being outspoken in a future workplace or in front of a professor will be substantially more difficult. At that point, I hope I can grow enough to expand my comfort zone and continue to step outside of that so I can act for a necessary change, wherever it may be or whoever I’m around.