Prompt: People respond to change in different ways. Some people tend to actively embrace and adapt to change, while others tend to resist change and prefer stability and familiarity. Which type of person are you? What do you want your readers to understand about embracing change or resisting change? Use specific experiences from your own life to develop and support your argument.
Learning to Move Before I Feel Ready
I tend to embrace change, not because uncertainty feels comfortable to me, but because I have learned that growth often requires acting before I feel fully prepared. One of the biggest changes in my life was leaving Beijing and coming to the United States for college. Before I moved, there were many parts of my life that I could predict without thinking much about them: how school worked, how people communicated, what was considered polite, and even small things like how to ask for help. Arriving in a different country suddenly made many of those assumptions visible because they no longer worked automatically. I remember realizing that even when I understood every word someone said, I did not always understand what they expected from me. That uncertainty was uncomfortable because it made me feel less competent in situations that would once have felt easy. However, I gradually realized that adapting did not require waiting until I completely understood the new environment. It required being willing to participate in it while I was still learning how it worked.
This became especially clear in my college classrooms. I used to feel that I should speak only when I had already organized my thoughts and knew exactly what I wanted to say. In many of my classes, however, discussions moved quickly, and waiting until I felt completely certain often meant that the conversation had already moved on. Instead of continuing to rely on the way I was most comfortable participating, I began pushing myself to speak earlier, even when my thoughts were still developing. At first, this felt irresponsible, as if uncertainty meant that I was not prepared enough to contribute. Over time, I began to see the opposite: participating while I was still thinking often helped me clarify my ideas. I could hear how other people responded, recognize weaknesses in my reasoning, and revise my thoughts in real time. By changing how I participated rather than retreating into a familiar habit, I learned that adapting often requires trying a new way of acting before it feels natural. Embracing change, for me, therefore became less about eliminating uncertainty and more about learning to act despite it.
I have encountered the same pattern in research, where the pull of familiarity can be especially strong. When I begin a new project, I often do not yet understand every theory, statistical method, or technical skill that the project will eventually require. My instinct is sometimes to stay with what I already know, or to believe that I should master everything before I begin contributing. Yet some of my most meaningful research experiences have taught me that this order is often impossible. I usually learn by starting with an incomplete understanding, encountering a problem, finding the knowledge I need, and revising my approach. Learning a new method or entering an unfamiliar area can temporarily make me feel less capable, especially when I am surrounded by people with more experience. In those moments, familiarity can feel safer because it protects the feeling of competence, while change exposes what I do not yet know. I used to interpret that discomfort as evidence that I was not ready. Now I am more likely to see it as evidence that I am stretching beyond what is already familiar. In this sense, embracing change has meant resisting the temptation to remain only in spaces where I already feel capable and trusting that competence can develop through action.
Because of these experiences, I now think there is an important difference between embracing change and enjoying uncertainty. I still value knowing what I am doing, and familiarity can provide confidence, efficiency, and a sense of control. But I no longer assume that feeling comfortable means I am making the better choice, or that feeling uncertain means I should stop. Some of the most important changes in my life have initially made me feel less certain of myself because they placed me in situations where my old habits were no longer enough. What those experiences taught me was how to tolerate being temporarily unfinished: not yet knowing exactly how to behave, what to say, or whether I will succeed. I want readers to understand that embracing change does not require being fearless or naturally adventurous. Sometimes it simply means being willing to move before you feel completely ready and trusting that understanding can emerge through the process of moving.