It’s that time of the year again for club fairs, general interest meetings, and new ambitions.
At St. Bonaventure University, we have a club fair every fall semester for those generally interested in joining activities on campus. For some reason this year, the year that I was managing to help two of the stands for two different clubs that I am in, I found myself more compelled to put my name and email down for more things than I ever have. At first, I thought that it was because this is the first year since COVID-19 that everything is officially back up and running at its “normal” rate. But, being a junior and coming to terms with the idea that this could be the last stage of my life that I have an opportunity to do most of these clubs, really overpowered the excitement of normalcy.
And so, I did sign up. I signed up for lots of different things. At least for the general meeting. Cheer, model UN, Raquetball, and more. Because why not? There are so many barriers that keep people from even putting their name on the sheet of paper to get the email list, even when they are genuinely interested.
Will I get in? Is there a heavy workload? Is this time accosting? What if I have never done this before? And more possible questions.
All of these self-doubting thoughts are just put there to keep you away from putting yourself out there. These thoughts are reasonable, though. I would be lying if I did not say that I have these thoughts almost every day. We all do.
There is a fine line between letting these thoughts help you protect yourself from hurtful situations and then letting them hold you back from something that could greatly improve your life and make you happy.
Another important piece of this is that you don’t have to absolutely commit to something that you are just simply interested in and would like to know more about. For instance, at the club fair. Sure, I put my name and email down for a lot of different clubs, but if I go to the interest meetings and decide that the clubs are not for me, then I am allowed to not be a part of those organizations anymore. It is as simple as if it works for me or if it doesn’t.
By all of this, I mean to say that life is short. Please just look into something that catches your eye. It is a melancholy feeling to be at one of your last chances to be able to try something new. Not that you cannot always start something new, just sadly, the older you get, there are fewer opportunities presented to you. And by starting new things whenever in your life solely because they catch your eye, you are breaking this barrier.
No one will think less of you if you choose to not stick with it or choose to stick with it. I say please look into things that you are interested in because I wish I had the motivation and this feeling about different opportunities at my first club fair, and even throughout my life so far.