In my opinion, I’ve lived a sheltered life. I grew up in a rural area, two hours from any major city, fifteen minutes from a decent-size town in Maryland and forty-five minutes from my 600-student high school in Pennsylvania. Up until this past December, I had never been further than Orlando, Florida, and I had never been on an airplane (yes, we drove for 15 hours).

But I finally got my chance to break these boundaries. My fiancé’s sister, Ashley, is currently living in Honduras teaching math at a bilingual school. His family invited me to go with them for two weeks to visit her and sightsee. We flew out of Baltimore on December 18th to the capital of Honduras, Tegucigalpa.

Walking around Tegucigalpa and our second destination, Juticalpa, nearly everyone stared at me. I also knew very little Spanish. It was extremely unnerving. I was prepared to stick out like a sore thumb, and I knew I would have trouble communicating, but I was not prepared for the overwhelming feeling of panic.

My sanity would not last two weeks in this state of shock, so I pushed forward. I brushed off the stares and bought a Spanish phrase book. I wasn’t very good at Spanish, but my efforts were rewarded. Just by trying, people were more patient with me. In the end I learned enough to make it through my trip. I had an amazing time full of new experiences.

When entering a new environment unprepared or underprepared, a sense of panic might be our first reaction. How you overcome the panic and face the obstacles in front of you is what sets those who succeed apart from those who fail.

Taking my experiences from Honduras to my new internship with Fitting Group, I learned to face each obstacle one at a time, pooling my resources and overcoming the panic. When I’m faced with new projects, sometimes the panic comes flooding in. Then, I take a deep breath and realize that I have the knowledge I need to complete the task. I have the knowledge within me and around me. I can’t be afraid to ask for help or find the information I need to move forward.

Starting a new job can be as unfamiliar as entering a foreign country. Succeeding is about finding the tools and skills you need to overcome the challenges ahead of you. The more prepared you are in the beginning, the easier the transition. If you find yourself unprepared, push forward and look for all the available resources you need to survive and flourish. Brush off the stares and find your phrase book.