The one piece of advice that everyone gave to me before I left for college was to get involved, and here I am now passing it on to you! Now I know this may sound repetitive as it’s something that you might hear quite often, but it’s easily one of the best pieces of guidance that I could’ve heard before leaving for college. When I first moved in I was hesitant to join lots of clubs at first, because I was scared I wouldn’t have enough time between classes, hanging out with friends, and the other things that I would want to do. But after a semester of getting into the groove of things, I realized that joining a few clubs was exactly what I needed to do!
When getting involved at college, there’s a wide variety of clubs and groups that you’ll be able to join. In my freshman year, I joined two clubs then after deciding that wasn’t enough I joined three more my sophomore year! I can honestly say that it was one of the best decisions I’ve made since being here; not only for the experience of the club but also getting to meet new people that I might not have met otherwise! Joining clubs is one of the best ways to make new friends. I can look back and reflect on the moments two years ago when I signed up for clubs not knowing more than maybe one person who was involved, to now know everyone involved and I’ve made amazing friends along the way!
Getting involved in new things also allows you to get outside of your comfort zone! One of the first clubs that I got involved in here at college was Habitat for Humanity. Previously I had volunteered in my hometown for things like town events, but I had never done service similar to this before. Being a part of the club has taught me so much about giving back and helping others. One of my favorite events was around Martin Luther King Jr. Day, when we went to a boys and girls club on a service trip to help clean out their storage units and organize all of their toys. It was so much fun to be involved in something new along with meeting more people from my school! As well as getting out of your comfort zone, it’s also fun to be involved in the clubs you’ve had previous interests in!
Two clubs that I became a part of my sophomore year were Lost In Sound – which is our campus acapella group – and Ambassadors, which are the campus tour guides! Both of which I had been interested in previously and wanted to take part in! I’ve been a part of singing groups since I was in middle school, and I wanted to continue my passion for singing throughout my college years so I figured that this would be a perfect fit! On the other hand, ever since I started touring colleges my junior year of high school, I’ve always been admired by the tour guides and how they played such a big role on campus so I decided to become one myself! What I’ve loved most about these clubs so far is how I’ve been able to meet so many people who are similar to me, which makes it easy to make new friends and get to know new people!
My college experience wouldn’t be the same if I hadn’t gotten so involved in different clubs and groups on campus starting in my freshman year. My only regret is that I didn’t sign up for them in my first semester! Nonetheless, I’m so incredibly grateful for the advice that I received to push me to try new things because I wouldn’t have met half the people I know now without doing so! Even though it can be scary at times, don’t be afraid to try new things and get involved on your campus! You won’t regret it.