Did you know that the “shoulder” of Orion the Hunter is a star by the name of Betelgeuse that’s how the film makers came up with the name for the movie Beetlejuice? Or perhaps, have you heard that the constellation Auriga shares a star with its neighboring constellation Perseus?
I certainly didn’t. Until one day I found myself tapping through Instagram stories, and came across a ten second clip from GCU clubs inviting people to attend the astronomy club on campus.
I have loved the stars and the planets for as long as I can remember. I used to bring with me in my light up unicorn backpack my copy of National Geographic’s “Little Kids First Big Book of Space” all throughout elementary school. I used to tell my mom and dad every day that I wanted to work for NASA and was obsessed with the movie “Hidden Figures”. When I found out that to work in that field I would need to take plenty more math classes in college and lots and lots of science, I quickly rethought my career path.
Stepping into that club meeting felt almost dangerous. Was I sorely out of place? I certainly wasn’t their typical attendee. I wasn’t in any sort of science program and I couldn’t help but feel as if I had no business waltzing into a room full of experts in the science of astronomy and expect to have a clue what was going on.
The moment my presence filled the room however, every doubt that I belonged vanished. Their President Alex greeted me with a warm smile and exuberant welcome, and their club advocate immediately found a place for me, never once batting an eye when I explained to him that I was a writer, not a science major.
Taking my seat, I could feel a nervous energy flooding through my veins as what felt like hundreds of eyes had all rested on me. When I finally could think clearly and take in the room, I came to find that that wasn’t the case at all. People began to talk to me and slowly I relaxed into my chair and fell right into community with the members.
The lights dimmed and Alex called the meeting to order, and in that moment, time froze for me. He had curated slides of the stars we would be looking for that night in the dark Arizona sky and with each slide, my mind was completely invaded with a passion I didn’t know I still had within me. I found myself taking pictures of the facts and even recalling early information as we dove deeper into topics like nebulae and constellations and star clusters. I couldn’t help but smile as I remembered elementary school me with her eyes glued to the white board as my third grade teacher drew the members of our solar system and explained each planet. I remember how I had gone home that night, cracked open my beginner book of space, and came back to school the next day with even more facts than we had covered. I felt, for just a moment, like even though I may not be the first person anybody in my life would expect to attend an astronomy club meeting, that maybe I had found my people in the most unlikely way.
GCU has hundreds of clubs, covering hundreds of topics, but just because you have never thought to go to a Pickleball tryout or maybe learn how to crochet, now is the time to do it! Find something that you would never have picked first, second, or maybe even third, and just try it out! Who knows? You may unlock a new found passion, and maybe a few new fun facts to annoy your roommates with.