Like anyone who goes to college, you're leaving a familiar

In the words of Jason Biggs, spoken with honesty and humility, we are reminded of a truth that belongs to every generation: “Like anyone who goes to college, you're leaving a familiar surrounding and a comfortable environment and your friends and everything, and you're starting fresh. It can be pretty daunting.” These words reveal not only the surface of a young person’s journey but the deeper currents of the human condition—the eternal movement from the known into the unknown, from comfort into challenge, from safety into growth.

At the heart of this saying lies the struggle between comfort and courage. To remain in the familiar is easy, for it gives the heart security. Friends, family, routines—all these form a shelter that feels unshakable. Yet life itself demands that we leave that shelter, that we step into new ground, where nothing is guaranteed. This departure is no small task; it stirs fear, it shakes the soul. Biggs calls it daunting, and indeed it is. But it is in this very moment, when one walks away from what is comfortable, that true growth begins.

The ancients spoke of this in their myths. Consider the story of the young hero who leaves his village to enter the wide world. Gilgamesh journeyed beyond his city to seek wisdom; the Buddha left his palace to seek enlightenment; Odysseus left Ithaca, not by choice, but by fate, and through his trials he became more than he was. Each tale teaches that to leave behind what is familiar is the beginning of transformation. College, in Biggs’s words, is one such threshold—a rite of passage where the self is tested and remade.

History too echoes this truth. Think of Abraham Lincoln, born in a humble cabin, surrounded by the simplest of worlds. To step from that environment into the harsh realm of politics and leadership was no easy path. He left behind familiarity, and at each stage began anew—facing ridicule, loss, and uncertainty. Yet it was in this leaving and beginning again that his greatness was forged. Like the student walking onto a new campus, he faced the daunting unknown, and by facing it, he grew into his destiny.

Biggs’s words also carry a hidden comfort: you are not alone in this struggle. He speaks of “anyone who goes to college,” reminding us that the fear of leaving, the weight of starting fresh, is shared by all. The feeling of being unmoored, of stepping into an unfamiliar world, belongs to the human journey itself. In recognizing that others feel the same, we find strength. The daunting path becomes less lonely when we know that many walk it alongside us.

The lesson for us is clear: embrace the daunting. Do not despise the trembling of the heart when leaving what is known, for it is the sign that you are entering a new chapter of growth. Whether in college, in work, in love, or in life, the same truth holds: only by stepping beyond the walls of comfort do we discover the full strength of who we are meant to be. Starting fresh is not a curse but a gift, though it is wrapped in uncertainty.

Practically, this means cultivating both courage and patience. When you leave what is familiar, allow yourself to feel the fear—but do not let it stop you. Seek new companions, build new rhythms, and remember that what once felt strange will one day feel like home. Write, speak, and connect, even when it feels difficult. And above all, trust that the daunting path is the one that leads to growth.

So let us remember Jason Biggs’s wisdom: to leave the familiar is daunting, but it is also necessary. Life will ask you many times to step out of comfort and into uncertainty. Each time, choose courage. For in every departure lies the seed of transformation, and in every new beginning lies the possibility of becoming more than you ever thought you could be.