Something I’ve learned this semester is that people romanticize being overbooked. There’s this idea floating around campus that if you’re not running from one club to another, staying out late every night, constantly at some event or meeting, then you’re not “involved enough.” Like involvement only counts if you’re exhausted.
I love being involved, but I also know myself. I know that I don’t function well when I’m stretched thin or trying to prove something. I’d rather pour into one or two things I genuinely care about, than be signed up for ten clubs just to say I’m “busy.” I have an organization I pour most of my time into, and I show up fully there. That feels more like real involvement than spreading myself so wide that I’m barely present for any of it.
College can make you feel like there’s this race to do everything at once, and if you don’t, you’re behind. But involvement doesn’t have to look like chaos. It can look like commitment. It can look like intention. When you choose a few things that actually align with who you are, you get deeper experiences. Deeper relationships. Deeper growth. When you’re not just collecting clubs like they’re resume lines, you’re actually building something.
I know it can feel like everyone else is doing more. I used to look around and think the same thing. But half the time, people are doing “more” because they’re afraid of doing “less.” They don’t want to feel like they’re missing out. Here’s what I’ve realized: you don’t miss out when you choose intentionally. You don’t miss out when you protect your energy and invest it wisely.
College isn’t about being everywhere. It’s about knowing where you belong and having the confidence to show up there fully.