A few weeks ago, I wrote an article titled, “The Power of Saying No.” Now this is an article I’m proud of and stand behind as a mantra for my life. I have a difficult time refusing people and refusing commitments when I’m simply swamped. However, there are many times when I’ve had to force myself to say no, and it all comes down to a single factor: I love working and being involved with multiple different organizations.
If I could use one word to describe myself, it would be passionate. I rarely pursue anything aggressively in life unless I am 100% invested, and once I become invested in said thing, it completely shifts your perspective. For example, in high school I made the spontaneous decision to join the community service club in my sophomore year. What seemed like a leap ended up influencing everything from the friends I made to the careers I am considering—all because I dropped off a small application in my school’s office to potentially “get out there and do some good.”
These same passions—from writing, to community service, to working in admissions—have followed me into college, and I could not be happier about BU’s strong community within these programs. Finding classmates with the same drive and passionate spark within them is different from randomly joining a club in high school. In college, you know the people you are working with are as wholly dedicated as you are. It’s an incredible way to broaden not only your social circle but also your perspective of the world around you—the world outside our comforting yet challenging BU bubble.
However, despite my love of being invested in so many different activities, there are some mentally tiring aspects of deep involvement within a community. Yes, I may not have joined the ten-plus clubs I signed up for at SPLASH, but I joined quite a few. And though I’m incredibly grateful to be in those few, I have come to realize that it’s all about balance. For me, personally, I love having a full, busy calendar. Coming from someone who used to veg out during school days and watch Netflix, I love that I don’t really have time to do that anymore because I am so immersed within BU. This has been the best possible way to come into my freshman year: hitting the ground running.
Nevertheless, I understand why committing yourself to so many activities is impossible for some people. That’s why I suggest weighing out your true passions against the fake “passions” you just did for your college apps. Everything in life is about creating a healthy balance; so don’t pursue that one club just because you did it in high school. Find new things that line up with what you truly want to do in this life, and participating in multiple organizations may not seem so crazy anymore—it may just seem rewarding. A hectic, busy, kind of amazing, but still amazing nonetheless.