If you’re a member of a Her Campus chapter at any college campus, maybe an active reader, an ambassador for one of Her Campus’ brands, or a college student looking for a club or organization to join to find a place to fit in: this is for you.
When I first started in college in 2020, I wasn’t sure what to expect: I had pushed myself my junior year of high school in hopes of getting myself out of my shell, ran for opportunities in my journalism program, and was on top of building my ideal college journey.
No one tells you that there’s no way to really be prepared for college. It’s like moving on to a whole different world-your expectations change, your views become challenged, your habits have to be adjusted, and life throws a lot of curveballs at you.
With COVID also making every 2020 graduate shift their whole life, adjusting to what could’ve been a normal college experience wasn’t really an option–to sum it up, nothing about my college transition was an easy preparation for me. It was chaotic.
One of the nerve-wrecking feelings I will always remember as a freshman scurrying her way around a campus too big for her to feel like she wouldn’t get lost was the desperation to get myself out of the box I was in. I wanted to know how to be involved, wanted to wake up every morning and have a different activity I can do on my way to class, and wanted to be able to meet new people at every spot that I can call a friend.
So, I was a little scared that somehow my social skills would disappear–It’s a common fear because how we talk to people and how we open up ourselves to friendships/relationships does change overtime. I thought that the way I enjoy having philosophical conversations about how I view the world would be annoying or maybe my overhyped gossip of “oh my god, did you hear about Olivia Rodrigo’s new video for the unreleased song on her album?” would be seen as useless conversation.
But news flash! There is a group, a place, a person who will appreciate the kind of things you like. There should be a place in every college (and I say should because unfortunately I can’t speak for every college campus) where you can awkwardly shuffle into, and you won’t be pushed out.
If there’s one thing I learned from my time throughout college is that it’s going to take a few trips to different places, learning how to let go of people who no longer support you and your goals and finding someone else who will, and maybe even switching from different interest clubs and organizations and workplaces to really find your place; but you will find it eventually.
Where does the journey of our self-discovery and feeling at home on a college campus have any connection to Her Campus? It’s about community.
We find community in the friends we make, in the connections with professors who admire our work, even in the daily coffee you get at the coffee shop because you’ve built a routine with getting the same expresso and the employees already know what you’ll order the moment you walk in. We find community in clubs and organizations where you can express your interests physically, verbally, and emotionally.
The thing about Her Campus at RIT for me is that it started with a person who became my closest friend welcoming me into the club to see if I would feel more comfortable on campus if I was in a group of women and women-identified who want to feel empowered (and write about it). Then we expanded from a close circle of friends to wanting others to feel as safe and welcome as we have made ourselves to be, making Her Campus a club where anyone can join, for all of us to feel empowered and where we can have a voice to do so.
I made sure to continue that tradition of community as I was given the role of President/co-correspondent this fall semester.
I realize as someone who just wanted to belong, that everyone does too. Even those who prefer to be outsiders will bond with other outsiders; they become a community of shared interests, preferences, lifestyle, and culture.
Maybe joining a Her Campus club isn’t for you. Maybe you’re not a writer or don’t want the life of an active influencer who reads the latest entertainment news. But Her Campus isn’t just magazine writing and tabs on your favorite or most-hated artist and the makeup brands they wear; it’s a home for college students who need it.
So, why do clubs like Her Campus matter? Because we build connections between our members, you’ll never feel alone. You’ll always have someone, a group, who has struggled to figure out what they want to do with their life. You’ll have someone who knows every NFL game Taylor Swift will show up to or will review every song on Olivia Rodrigo’s new album. You’ll have someone who needs a club where they can feel safe because, unfortunately, not every place in college and in the world will accept them for who they are.
These clubs matter because when you make a club more than just writing articles on a schedule and getting published, you start with making it a community where everyone can feel like they have a voice and a place to stay.