Ladies and gentlemen, college is back in session, meaning it’s time to get involved in as many organizations as your heart desires, or as little for some people. I’ll be honest, I started college without a plan to join many organizations, and as I look back at the choices I made, I wish that wasn’t the case.
It was freshman year of college and I began my journey living in an apartment, hours away from home. The community in this complex was non-existent. I didn’t really have mentors or that voice telling me to get out there and join some clubs. I joined some little groups like photography club, or scattered philanthropy-based organizations, but none of them played out in a magical way. This resulted in a freshman year that didn’t really add anything special to my college experience.
Then something clicked, I need to do more. I ended up transferring schools for a few reasons, I needed a new scene. My biggest goal with coming to this new school was to start over and not hold back, so that’s exactly what I did. I ended up joining so many organizations that my plate arguably became a tad too full. Let me just say though, I am SO happy I took this route.
I discovered that for me, I needed to be involved in some way or another. Joining organizations can be scary because you most likely don’t know anyone, or what the expectations are, or if you’ll even like dedicating time to this extracurricular. However, a lot of these thoughts and fears shouldn’t take over your mindset. College is about trying. Seeing what works for you and what will make your time in college memorable. It’s okay to join one thing and quit another, it’s all about what’ll make you happy and how you want to spend your time at the end of the day.
To anyone that may be a freshman, or has just transferred to a new school, or just hasn’t attempted everything they set out to do in school, put yourself out there. You’ll meet so many cool people, end up doing amazing things in what you become a part of, and you also can gain some important life skills.