College is a crazy time to be alive. There is so much to do and what feels like all the time in the world and not enough time all at once. You get (roughly) four years to figure out what you want to do in life, create lasting memories, and build an impressive resume that will help get you a killer job after graduating. Throughout your time in school you meet a variety of people that you may or may not enjoy being around. With these people, you quickly begin to notice the people that are super involved and there are also people that don’t give a hoot about being involved. I have been both of these people.
Before I transferred to Behrend, I went to Clarion for two years and during that time I wasn’t really involved. I dabbled in American Marketing Association (AMA) but I didn’t really go to any meetings. I only joined so that I could go on their New York City trip, which might I add, was a ton of fun and helped me make a couple of friends. Other than that, I did not do a darn thing. I hung out with my suitemates and had about one friend. To be honest, it was really freaking boring and I ended up going home a lot. However, it DID give me plenty of time to binge on Netflix which was both a blessing and a curse (no one should watch as much Netflix as I did from 2013-2015).
Sometimes I wish I had been more involved during my first two years of school and I wonder how my life would be different had I put myself out there more. Here’s the thing, though, I’m insanely happy with where my life is right now because of the lack of choices that I made when I first started college. Once I made my way on over to Behrend I did what I had been scared to do – I put myself out there and I got involved. I joined a sorority and Her Campus and a few other organizations. I had learned from my mistakes and saw this change in scenery as a way to correct my mistakes and truly get the college experience that I had pictured for myself.
I’ve been on both ends throughout my years and I do know that being super involved on campus isn’t for everyone, but I also know that doing absolutely nothing is boring AF. You don’t have to join Greek life or something huge in order to find where you belong. You can look around and find a club or organization that truly interests you. When you join something that supports what you enjoy, you will meet people that enjoy the same thing and from there the possibilities for friendship are endless. And hey… if writing is your thing, you can always join us lovely ladies (and gents) of Her Campus PS Behrend!