Stepping Out Of Your Comfort Zone Can Change Your Social Life

Seventeen brave painters, a snowy morning, and a table full of abstract bunnies sparked a bigger question: what happens to our lives when we try something new? We share the joy and jitters from teaching an over-fifty class, where identical supplies produced wildly different styles and fresh confidence. That energy carries into a new hobby—Mahjong—and the surprising way a beginner’s mindset builds patience, purpose, and real friendships.

We talk frankly about the adult friendship gap and how to bridge it through shared learning. From libraries packed with free classes to restaurants hosting cooking nights and studios offering creative workshops, there are more low‑barrier ways to meet people than you might think. We trade stories about locals who haven’t explored their own town, and make the case for playing tourist where you live: discover the downtown arcade you’ve never tried, sample the restaurant you always pass, and visit the natural landmarks in your backyard.

Along the way, we offer practical ideas for getting started: pick one class this month, give yourself a few sessions before judging, and focus on progress over perfection. We also highlight our gallery’s upcoming events, including a new exhibition and a playful sneaker art class. If you’ve been craving community, creativity, or just a reason to step outside, this conversation hands you a map and a gentle push. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who needs a nudge, and tell us: what will you try next?

Transcript

Abstract Bunnies And Unique Styles

The Joy Of Trying New Things

Learning Mahjong And Growing Patience

Making Friends As An Adult

Community Classes And Local Resources

Explore Your Own Backyard

Weekend Plans And Gallery Events

SPEAKER_00 0:06

Hello, welcome to an episode of Bruttifully Made. It is a beautiful, snowy, icy Friday here in Canton, Ohio. And I just finished a very brave class of painters with an organization that is for 50 years old and up in our community called Generations. And there were about 17 painters. And I'm really surprised that they all made it out this morning. It was a class before I opened, and we painted a bunny, and it was very abstract and fun. And I loved watching everybody create these amazing pieces, and they were all so different. So I'll share in the uh pictures what this whole process looked like in the picture looked like. And um, yeah, I just everybody had the same instructions, they had the same materials, and everybody's style came out, and it was just so much fun. Some of them were more like fine art uh porcelain painters and ceramicists and other kinds of painting. Um, and none of them had done this before in this style and this way, and they uh were a little nervous and a little bit scared to try, and I talked them into it, and they were all really fun. So I just think it's neat to step out of your comfort zone and try something new and something um different and explore what the possibilities are because you could fall in love with something. This is like my little mahjong journey. I love learning this game and having so much fun turning my art into things that help me celebrate this newfound, you know, activity. So it's it's funny because you don't know what you don't know and you don't realize what how much joy it can bring into your life just trying something new. So it's just an encouraging kind of you know thought to try this year something new or different and see where it takes you and see what you can do with it and see how much you you know grow from learning something new. And I think that we as we get older, we get stuck in our ways and we don't want to try something um different. And I think it's really important to continue to do that. So that is my message for you today is to try something new and to try learning something new. And you don't have to like it. I mean, it could not be for you after you've tried, but you're never going to know. And you know, if it's something that piques your interest, it may take a few lessons to learn. I mean, I am only three lessons in, and it's gonna take a while for me to get, you know, a deeper understanding of this game, and that's okay. I want to do that, I want to give myself the time and the grace to learn and meet all these new people. I mean, I'm I'm growing an entire new circle of friends through this activity, and that's what I love. As we get older, how do you make new friends? How do you find new people to, you know, connect with? You know, you don't, if if you were a parent, you had that as your excuse to make new friends and meet people because your kids were making friends and you would get together with new families and you would, you know, hang out. That's how you made friends. Now your kids are gone. It's like, how do you do that? And so this space where I'm at, my shop, that's one way a lot of people will make new friends. They'll come in for a class, and sometimes that's why they want to take the class. They want to take the class because they want the social aspect of it, and that's totally fine. I love that. I love having that. I've even tried to have um like uh dating, like art speed dating that didn't go over so well. I only had guys sign up, so I had to cancel it because I didn't have anyone for them to meet. But I want to open that up for everyone, you know, why not make some new friends and doing something that you love and go into your community and find those opportunities? And taking this class is one way, you know, this Mahjong class to the library is one way I'm learning to meet new people. And we're all sharing, you know, learning this new game, and we're all in the same boat and the same level. Some are catching on faster than others, but it's fantastic. So I just encourage you to find those opportunities within your own community. Start with a library, that's uh a great place. They are always offering classes and things and experiences, and usually they're free. Sometimes there's a little bit of a fee, but usually they are, and that's one great way to make some new friends as adults. We have to find those ways, those avenues to connect with one another, or find places like my place where you can take a class and you can learn something new artistically, uh creatively. Um, there's restaurants that offer cooking classes. Um, there's uh, I mean, there's gotta be all kinds of things. Check with your local chamber of commerce or your travel and tourism. Ours, visit Canton. My gosh, they do a phenomenal job of listing all kinds of things that you can do in the community. I just saw a travel blog um on I think it was TikTok or Instagram. This couple came into Canton and visited all these places and posted it. The biggest comments on that were people that live here in Stark County going, I didn't know you could do that. I've lived here all my life. I didn't know that was here. I didn't know we had an arcade downtown, I didn't know that restaurant was here. I was like, what is going on? Are you not leaving your house? And I'm telling you, that's the thing. My mother grew up in Hawking Hills, and when my father passed away, she had we had taken her to Ash Cave. She had never been to any of the caves in the systems of Hawking Hills. And if you know anything about that area, there are hundreds of miles of caves and hiking and nature. She never, she grew up there, had never visited, and we took her to the first one after my dad died in 2017. I had no idea that she had never done that. And I was just like, what is going on that we're not exploring our own backyards? Why are we not learning what is in our you know own areas of where we live in the counties and the communities and do it, go out, play tourists in your own community and explore and learn something new and visit a new place and vow to try a new restaurant and try a new ethnic food or you know, do something out of your comfort zone. It's amazing what you'll learn. So that is my rant for today. Is that please go out and explore and uh just do it carefully, be very careful. Um, but I would love to know what you want to learn. And I love bringing new experiences here and doing new things here. Um, I've learned so much from one another, and I just it makes me sad when people are just kind of give up and don't want to do those things and learn new things and visit new places, even if it's just an easy drive within your community. There's there's tons of things to do. So have a wonderful weekend exploring and going to visit something new and do something new in your community. Be safe. We have more snow and ice coming. Um, we also have our new exhibiting artist. Her exhibit reception is tomorrow here, Tracy Freeman, um, from one to three. So I'm really excited about her artwork going up, and she has a class on cartoon rising year sneakers uh coming up uh in a week. So that's gonna be a lot of fun. But yeah, this month I think it's gonna fly by a lot faster than January did. And the Olympics start this weekend and the Super Bowls this weekend. So have fun, be safe, create, and explore. So take care, have a wonderful weekend. Bye bye.