If Your Heart Isn't In It
You know, this school year has been an exceptional one for me. I have a job at the International Center on campus that I enjoy, I am meeting more people and more people every day, school is starting to make sense, I’ve even been to the gym more than twice (an all-time high for moi), but my last little hurdle of “non-suck” was joining an organization. I know that’s what all parents and super-involved “gold star” students tell you to do when you first come to college, but for most of us, we don’t do it. If you do get to the almighty step of actually signing up for a club, you don’t show up to the first meeting. Even fewer of us show up to the second. It just seems to be how things go in college.
I was definitely one of those students. I would sign up for everything, feeling all “involved,” and then once the first email popped up, it would get lost in the abundance of emails that pop up every day through my school email. Because in all honestly, if you’re not passionate about the cause for the group/club/organization, you aren’t going to go. That’s just the truth. To be an integrated part of a group or team, you have to be committed. That means all the meetings, and events, and fundraisers. It’s a lot of work outside your other commitments such as school and work. So no matter how much the President of the whatever club tries to guilt you into putting down your email address at their table, really think about if it is an org that you can really see yourself being a part of. If you’re not sure, but you’re still interested, there’s nothing wrong with going to that first meeting to get some more information. Just don’t just sign up for something because that’s what you think you’re supposed to do to become the “Ultimate College Student.” Because no matter how many clubs you’re part of, no job cares about the fact that you helped out at the registration booth that one time at that one event. They want to see that a person really impacted the organization or at least gained some important skills from being involved with a certain group.
One of the best things to do is join a group dealing with your major and/or minor. It’s inevitable that you would find something in common with the people associated with that group, you guys are probably in class together! (Whew, got that icebreaker out of the way). That’s how I learned about PTHeart (short for Physical Therapy Health Education and Rehabilitation Treatment). They are a group of physical therapy and health education students that travel to the North End Soup Kitchen every Friday. Last Friday, the 7th, was my first Friday working with the health education side of the group. I had a lot of fun and I can really see myself being a part of the group for the long run. I’ll have more to tell about my Fridays there on my next blog post.
So don’t be discouraged if you went three years in college without really being involved (like me), it’s never too late! Once you find a group you can really connect with, just work from there! Just six months of involvement is better than none. But really think about your interest, don’t go on a sign-up rampage. And if you don’t like any of the orgs on campus, start your own! I’ve even heard someone has started a Pizza Club on campus. Wow, I’m hungry just thinking about that….
…so um where’s the first meeting?
