As students, and especially as people who are still in the process of growing up, we find comfort in the things and people that are familiar and dependable. If we know what will come out of the things we do, and if we can predict a person’s behavior and personality, we are more likely to at least want to do those things and meet with those people. This, however, limits the scope of things we can do, and puts an obstacle in front of our personal growth. Appenzeller Discomfort Zone was conducted for pushing the limits of this obstacle in hopes of eradicating it.

The event was conducted both online and offline over the course of eight weeks. Students joined a KakaoTalk open chatroom where three prompts were sent each week to help them get comfortable with performing random acts of kindness; being alone, or with an RC student who is a complete stranger. Through these prompts, students got to take an RC student to take a walk with them, leave motivational quotes on the doors of students’ dorm rooms, have a picnic just by themselves, ask a stranger at the movie theater to choose which movie they should see, and more.

The twenty three students who took part in the event were tasked with completing six different prompts posted over the period, taking a photograph of themselves completing the prompts, and filling in a final report to see their reflections upon completing the prompts. Through some of the reflections Appenzeller International House received, it seems students got the chance to make more friends than they ever thought was possible. Moreover, they reported that they enjoyed seeing that their actions can make people happy. Kindness goes a long way!

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