University has potential to be the best time of your life, if you do it right that is. If I could advise you to do one thing, whether it’s throughout your whole university experience or just for a part of it, I’d tell you to join a team or society. Lancaster for example, has over thirty five sports clubs and over two hundred societies. Joining one of them has been the best decision I’ve made since I came here and here’s a few of the reasons why…
1.A Break from Studying. If nothing else, being part of a team or society can be a welcomed break from the hard work that comes with coursework and assignments. This is particularly needed at exam time when revision stress is at its peak! Often the best remedy for stress is some exercise or simply a conversation and a laugh with friends, both of which can be offered by the wide range of societies. If you’re part of a sports team, training sessions can be a great stress relief, as well as the socials you have the opportunity to attend each week.
2.Team BondingGetting involved in a group of people can mean that you make great connections. Being part of a team in particular can create such a bond between players. There’s no greater feeling than getting a win when every single person puts one hundred percent effort into a game and not to mention the satisfaction when that joint ambition that everyone works together towards is achieved. For me with football, there’s nothing better than when your team scores the winning goal in a cup final and all the hard work that everyone has put in is all worth it!
3. CompetitionsBeing part of a club or society potentially means that you have the chance to compete in Roses. For anyone who doesn’t know, Roses is the ultimate competition that takes place in May every year between Lancaster and York University, competing in over 120 different events. The atmosphere at Roses is not something to be missed. It’s a huge deal for sports teams and societies, so having the chance to compete in one of the events is an amazing opportunity.
4.Finding Friends For LifeTeams and societies are very often where the majority of people meet their closest friends at University. If you become part of a society, you must at least have one thing in common with every other person there, because the fact that you’ve joined the society means you have an interest in that sport/hobby. This means that you get the chance to meet people that are possibly similar to you, which you may not find with the people you meet in your flat.
5.Meeting A Variety Of PeopleSo I’ve explained a bit about how it can be good to meet people who have similar interests to your own when you join a team or society. On the other hand though, it can also be a good experience to meet a group of people who despite having at least one interest in common with you, every single person is from a different background and has a different story. You might meet people who are similar to you in ways, but come from the other side of the world and this can be extremely enlightening.
The main point I want people to get from this article is that University is what you make it. So, make the most of it, get involved in as much as you can and socialise with as many different people as you can. This way, you can really find out what the best way for you to spend your experience is. Join a club or society that involves something you love, or maybe even try something new. But either way, don’t let this time go by without getting involved in as much as you can.