In high school, I wasn’t involved in much of anything. I was on my school news team and played JV tennis for a couple of years. If you weren’t athletic or enrolled in AP classes, there weren’t a lot of clubs to join. I also worked in fast food jobs since I was 14, so I didn’t have time outside of class to do a lot of extracurriculars.
That all changed in college. I picked Minnesota State University, Mankato for one main reason; they stressed the importance of getting involved and getting real-world experience.
I decided to take things slow my first semester, joining just one organization: Her Campus MNSU. I knew I wanted to be a mass media major since the beginning of my college career, so I knew I had to be a strong writer.
After one semester, I made a dozen new friends, got involved on campus and was elected the recruitment and diversity director as a freshman.
When I was done with my first semester, I knew I wanted to join more clubs. I had such a wonderful experience in the one club, imagine how much fun I’d have with several!
So, in the spring, I joined the pep band. I loved cheering on my school and making friends (and free pizza was nice too).
After taking 18 credits in the spring and finishing with a 4.0 GPA, I decided that after the summer break, I would get even more involved.
As I eased into the fall 2019 semester, I joined PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America), Women for Global Leadership Board, College Democrats, and continued to write for Her Campus. I took 17 credits this semester, finishing up all my general education courses a semester early (I didn’t have any college credit going into college).
A couple of weeks after the new semester started, I was hired as the Public Relations Assistant for the Centennial Student Union. I was honored to receive the role as a sophomore, still finishing my general education courses.
While I love my job and the experience it brings, I underestimated the time commitment. I ended up living at the office working on homework and weekly articles. It was my most stressful semester to date. By the end of the semester, I was exhausted but felt accomplished. I attempted to do it all, and it worked out.
Then the Spring 2020 semester came along, and I was not ready for it. Since I just finished a very stressful semester, I allowed myself to take the whole winter break off which lasted for an entire month. I went home to the Twin Cities and spent time with friends, slept in until 2 p.m., and binge-watched TV shows. Now that I look back on it, this was the wrong choice. I probably should have volunteered or worked for a month, but I was so exhausted from the semester before, I wasn’t motivated to do anything.
When the new semester began, I was excited to get back into the swing of things, after a month of sitting around and sleeping for more than 12 hours a day.
Unfortunately, the Spring semester did not start as planned. I registered for 17 credits, as I have been doing for the past year, had the same amount of hours at work, but I joined even more clubs. I became involved in the marketing club and became the Co-Social Media Marketing Manager for IGNITE: Women in Politics MNSU Chapter.
I didn’t realize I was doing too much until I began to procrastinate on everything because I took on so many things.
As I reflected on my involvement and passions, I ultimately looked at things that made me happy. Hanging out with friends, meeting new people at my job, and spreading the word about an organization I believe in. Now I realize that classes weren’t on the list,
but it’s kinda required when you go to college.
So, looking forward to the rest of 2020, I chose to focus on things that bring me joy. Things that will make a lifelong impact. Things I thrive on. It’s hard to say no sometimes. But it’s better to be 100% at one thing, then 10% at ten things.