Typical Test/Title Explanation

Hello!

No I have not left the country yet, and yes I am writing my first ever blog partly for the sake of making sure I know what I'm doing. (On that note, consider this my advanced apology for any future spelling and grammar mistakes- I was a math major...)

First of all, thanks for reading said blog, and please respond and keep me posted on what's going on in your own life.

Second, I'll attempt to explain the title. You may have expected a catchier title, in which case...thank you for your high expectations! I promise I thought long and hard about what the title should be, and I kept coming back to this. I should start by explaining ZPD:

Education people (and definitely Breakthrough people) will recognize this. It stands for Zone of Proximal Development. When teaching, you have to consider the level of difficulty of the content. If something is too easy (in the comfort zone), students will be bored and learn nothing new. If something is too hard (frustration zone), students will get frustrated and learn nothing new. In the middle is the Zone of Proximal Development. It is still challenging and outside the comfort zone, but it's more of that just right level. It's the zone where growth occurs.

This trek to Tanzania (TZ for short...is this starting to make sense?) is definitely part of a realization that this is a time to "do what scares me" (thank you Jack Ries) and "be comfortable being uncomfortable" (thank you Breakthrough). I am stepping out of my comfort zone and into Tanzania, and I am hoping for growth. I hope to grow spiritually, emotionally, and professionally. More importantly, am I am hoping to help others to the same.

So, short story long: This blog will be my tale (likely in a long-winded manner) of stepping out of comfort zones and growing from new challenges and funky adventures. I hope to keep it somewhat interesting and slightly shorter than a novel.

God bless!