For years of my life, I waited to go to college, and suddenly, I am packing up my dorm and moving home because I am done with my freshman year. The first year of college is one of the most exciting and scary times of your life, but it flies by. I feel so thankful to have gained countless memories, incredible friendships, and life lessons.
I want to preface that everyone’s freshman year looks different, so it is okay if your year looks different than mine or your friends! Coming into college, I knew I wanted to get really involved on campus, so I applied for everything that interested me. It was a lot of applications and interviews, and that in itself was wild to me because most clubs in High School you didn’t have to apply for. I really encourage you to lean on others during this process, as it’s a lot of emotions on top of all the freshman year craziness.
One of the most challenging aspects of my first year was struggling to find my sense of community. I think many people go into college thinking they are going to have that perfect friend group, when in reality, that doesn’t happen for everyone. I didn’t have an immediate group for a while and was struggling to solidify groups within all my different communities. Although it can feel like an isolated issue, I promise you it is not. Making long-term friendships can be so difficult, but the right people will come into your life. When I felt this way, I would often remind myself that making even one friend made joining that community worth it. I haven’t met all my best friends through one organization, but I have collected individual friendships across all of them and cherish those people so much!
I was lucky enough to join various organizations such as Her Campus, AS Program Board (ASPB), ADPi, Kesem, and Women in Media, and want to highlight a few of them!
I joined ASPB as an ambassador and through this had the opportunity to work at really incredible events such as our Extravaganza concert and made a lot of new friends. At first it was daunting being surrounded by such high achieving and amazing people but the more I got to know them the more I became inspired and loved collaborating with them. It is an incredible opportunity to get to work with like minded driven people and I think those communities are so important.
I also got involved with Kesem this year and actually joined Winter quarter (it is totally okay to join past fall quarter). I found Kesem at a time when I really needed it in my life and I feel so thankful for that community now. The people within this club are some of the most welcoming and genuine people I have met at UCSB and I love working with them. I had joined a lot of clubs centered around event planning and communication but Kesem serves different needs as the club is based around service and working with kids. Having variety within my different organizations has helped me to feel more balanced at UCSB.
One other club I want to highlight is Women In Media. This club is centered around professional development and has been so amazing to have in my first year. They put on incredible panels and events, and even host an annual Women in Media conference, which is amazing for networking and hearing from professionals in the industry (shoutout to the Her Campers who made this conference possible!) I have made so many valuable connections through this organization and have been privileged to learn from amazing women.
I have loved every organization I have been in this year but I also want to note that it is totally okay if you don’t get in on the first try or you want to float around and try out different clubs. Rejection is redirection and you can always try again or even if you don’t there are so many amazing clubs on campus you’re bound to find one you enjoy. Not every club will be a perfect fit but you’ll never know if you don’t try. I have orgs that I love that don’t fit into my schedule but because I went to a meeting I met some of my best friends. I know it can be intimidating to attend meetings yourself but going to the first meeting is the hardest step and it will be so worth it in the end. Freshman year will be a roller coaster no matter what but being involved on campus has been integral to my year and I encourage you to take that jump because it will transform your life!