It’s difficult to believe, but the semester is almost over here at VCU and for me that will mean I’ve made it through my first year of college (which is even harder to believe). College is a huge transition for everyone, but for me it was the first time I truly had to go outside of my comfort zone. I’ve basically lived in the same town my entire life (my parents moved into my childhood home before I could walk) so I was always familiar with my surroundings. By the time I got to high school I had become a big fish in a little pond; I was an officer in practically every club I participated in and I felt that I was able to accomplish a lot within said clubs over the four years that I was a high school student. It was so exciting for me to move to a new city to attend college, but I also knew it was going to be a huge transition.
When I got to VCU I felt welcomed immediately, however I wasn’t sure how to get involved on campus or what type of activities to get involved with. In high school I had made a beeline for the theatre department when I was a freshman and stayed there all four years. I loved being so involved in that community and wanted to find a similar experience in college. I went to the SOVO Fair and signed up to receive emails from a few campus groups; most of them related to my major in some way. I attended one or two meetings for a few organizations, but none of them felt like the right fit for me so I decided to look for different options. For the first few months of college I felt a little bit directionless in terms of extracurricular activities. All of a sudden I was no longer the person organizing seven different events for three different clubs at the same time; I was just some college freshman spending way too much time on tumblr after classes were over for the day.
It took some time, but as the year went on I was able to find organizations to participate in that I really liked (e.g. Her Campus), and as the semester comes to a close I look back on those first few months of college with a lot of “I wish I had known…” moments. Here are my top three:
1. I wish I had known that you don’t have to be in charge to be involved.
In high school, the club officers called all the shots — but I realized that in college, leadership is usually more abstract. No matter what a member’s role is, everyone can contribute and help the organization thrive, probably because in college people join clubs because they want to be there. It’s not like people are joining organizations just to put them on their college applications now right?
2. I wish I had known that you usually have to try on a few things before you find the right fit.
I remember coming home from an organization meeting and feeling completely defeated because I knew it wasn’t the right place for me…but it was August and it was the first club I had looked at. Now I’ve realized that you can’t always walk into the first place you’ve looked at and go “wow this is home!”
3. I wish I had known that you can’t rush into feeling comfortable.
I remember having this feeling at the beginning of fall semester like “okay it’s September now I should feel completely comfortable here.” Yeah it doesn’t work like that. Now I’ve realized that it takes time to adjust to a new place and finding the right place in a new place is a process.
So that is the story of a former big fish’s journey to swimming comfortably in a new pond. I’m lucky enough to go to a school that offers such a wide variety of activities and organizations to be a part of. And for any new freshmen who stumble across this, don’t worry! Finding a place here at VCU is totally possible and can be a lot of fun.