I’ve known one of my close friends, Adam, since we were in high school together. Today, my friends and I went to see him perform at the San Jose State theater as he was a finalist in an oral interpretation contest.

He was doing his version of a segment from Dr. Horrible. He stumbled during his introduction, but his piece had flow. In my opinion, he was not the best of group, but what really mattered was that he was there, performing, in front of MANY people, and this was a feat that none of us would have ever imagined possible with him.

Adam has a history of social anxiety, due to how people treated him in his childhood. As a result, things like getting a job was impossible for him, or even being apart of a dorm room for more than one week. I’ve known him since high school to be this way.

As I saw him on that stage, smiling as Dr. Horrible, I realized that he’s up there probably because of the LARPing (Live Action Role Playing) he has done throughout his college years (along with other confidence builders), which has given him the courage to be in public and not be afraid to interact with people. Originally, I would laugh at the idea of LARPing, but I started to understand how it can be of help to those who have issues with communication and being around others.

For Adam, it’s brought him a long way – from the person I once known who couldn’t hold a job for more than one day to someone who exhibits more confidence in himself than probably most people I know.

Someone like him just proves that it’s possible to overcome fears with enough effort; next week he’s finally graduating college as well, has a job, and now he’s looking forward to the world out there.

Congrats Adam, and we’ll be with you completely every way.