My freshman and sophomore year have come and gone and I still had nothing to put on my resume. I went to tons of club meetings but just couldn’t bring myself to commit to anything. I’ve written an article here and there for the school newspaper, but I knew that wasn’t enough to prove myself an involved student on campus. Why couldn’t I commit to anything? Why couldn’t I put myself out there and get involved?
I’m introverted, that’s why.
Club interest meetings were the worst; huge groups of people and most were already friends with each other—basically my worst nightmare. I didn’t have any friends, how was I supposed to feel like I was “in” with everyone? Quite frankly, not knowing anyone would always stress me out and I would leave interest meetings feeling disappointed. I knew that I would never go to future meetings out of the fear of being the awkward, quiet girl. But this year, my junior year, I finally made myself a promise to change and I’m more involved than ever before.
If you’ve been nodding your head like, “oh my god yes, I can totally relate to this girl,” keep on reading for the advice I gave to myself that broke me out of my shell a little bit.
First and foremost, confidence is key. Wear your cutest, favorite outfit and style your hair and makeup in a way that makes you look in a mirror and think, “I look good and I’m totally going to make friends today.” If you feel good and can present a confident version of yourself, it’ll be that much easier to start and maintain a conversation with someone.
Next, be aware of your body language. I was the queen of sitting in the corner with my legs crossed and eyes glued to my phone, but I certainly wasn’t going to make any friends that way. I’m not saying to go from zero to 100 and put yourself in the middle of the room, I still haven’t worked my way up to that yet, but put your phone in your pocket and be conscious of your body language. Don’t walk around with your arms crossed, and make an effort to make eye contact with people! Remember, a small smile can be the invitation someone else is looking for to come talk to you.
Lastly, commit. I can’t stress this enough. Signing your name on a sheet to get club emails is not committing. That’s showing interest, which is still awesome! But if you’re like me, that’s not enough. Say you’ll take on some sort of responsibility or sign up for an event. Make commitments that you can’t back out of; you’ll be forcing yourself to get involved and socialize. Pushing yourself to take those extra steps to be involved is the key to maintaining your involvement with that club.
Even if you join just one club, that’s one more than you had before. Baby steps are still steps! Keep a smile on your face, embrace every new opportunity, and say yes to everything. Get out there and make some friends, you won’t regret it!