Youth story of the month: MOT Norway

MOT has meant a lot to me throughout Junior High school and it really helped me to get outside of my comfort zone. Throughout the period we had MOT, I was the one who would rather hide away and not say a single word or participate in any of the things we did. I always texted the one we had in the MOT classes and said, “Don’t ask me any questions or expect me to answer any questions”, and I would always get the same reply “I can’t promise that”. The reason for this was that she did not want me to remain in my comfort zone and she had faith in me that I could say something and participating in these classes. She wanted to show me that I knew as much as everyone else, but I need to believe in myself as well.

In one of our last classes, we had something that I thought was scary and I was really terrified of it.  The whole class sat in a circle, and we were going to sit on a chair in the middle of this circle. Then each person would say something nice about the person sitting in the middle as well as where they thought the person would be in the future when it came to work and family etc. When it was my turn, I almost decided to get up and leave but then I thought “No, you know what, now I am going to prove that I can do this” so I sat down again and even managed to say something myself.

The lady who had the MOT class was extremely proud of me and this gave me such a great sense of accomplishment and happiness. I stepped outside of my comfort zone and did something that I feared the most – having all attention focused on ME!! I was so proud of myself and extremely happy and suddenly it was not so hard the next time I had to do something like this. This made me see that thing are not always as scary as one thinks things are or one imagine they are. With some support and a little bit of positive pressure things work out fine and this I can now say from experience.

The MOT classes gave me more strength to stand up for myself, and to have the courage to say no if there was something I did not want to do or did not agree with. To be able to stand up alone and not just follow everyone else

MOT to live is a lot about have the courage to dare to go outside of one’s comfort zone and to do thing that might seem scary because then you feel like you are alive and that you are accomplishing things that will help you in the future. Getting out of one’s comfort zone is a big step in moving on in one’s life. Having MOT to care for others is very important. It is important to care for others as well as show it. We have also learnt how important it is to believe in oneself.

The fact that saying “hello” can mean more than just a “hello” has been a big focus and I now see how important this is. It can brighten up the day for a person more than one can even imagine and all one needs to say is “Hello”.

In the MOT classes we did a lot of things which I found quite scary, and I honestly thought I was going to die at times because it was so scary. BUT did I? NO! It was only scary then and there, but you do not die from it – you get the world’s best feeling of accomplishment and this feeling I have had many times since finishing MOT classes. Everything we did gave me courage to challenge myself and step outside of my comfort zone.

Emma Lie Tjervåg, 17 years old.