It’s the start of our freshman year. Within the first few months, we meet our guidance counselors to learn what the rest of high school should look like. Our college applications are based on what we do in these next three years, and people start to tell us what college admissions expect.

Colleges really look at what you have on your resume. Make sure your extra-curriculars
are above and beyond.

It's weird how colleges expect us to "stand out"

OK...

Volleyball, FBLA, artistic design club, ski and snowboard club, science fair, debate team, Golden Wings Theatre Company, choir, hiking club, Christian athletes club, photography club, robotics club, student council.

Don’t get me wrong, I was enthusiastic about all the clubs I signed up for. And after I did get myself involved, I enjoyed what I did. I appreciated being in the clubs.

But I know that most of us... if not all of us, have participated in something where we initially thought “this would look good on our resume." Because we knew that as senior year approached, we would have to make a list of everything we did for our community or for our school. And we needed to make sure that list looked good.

Then a year passes. We are sophomores, and we all begin to understand how competitive this whole "getting into college thing" really is.

Colleges don't really care about how many clubs you join. You need to be more different; you need to START a club.

It's weird how colleges expect us to "stand out."

All of a sudden, my friends start “forming clubs.”

From a frisbee club to an Investment club.

Future Doctors of America to a club helping cancer patients.

From a mock trials club to an Autism Cares club.

From a puppet club to a club that's probably forming now, as I write all of this down.

Where did all these clubs come from?

And once again, another year passes into our high school career. We are juniors; most of
us are starting to get a sense of where we want to go to college.

Colleges actually are not looking at how many clubs you join. They just want to see that you’re committed. Colleges want you to be a leader in these clubs.

It's weird how colleges expect us to "stand out."

So now I'm here.

I manage to be inducted into academic honors societies. I manage to take on officer positions.

But so did all my friends.

What's the point now?

Sure, we all learn how to be leaders. We all learn how to work without much sleep.

But in the end... What makes each of us unique?

Colleges want us to be unique right? They want us to be different. They want us to stand out.

Then why do we hear about all the necessities to get into college? How do they accept one person when we ALL did what they told us to do. The college application system is starting to get repetitive. It seems as though they are recreating the problem they set out to solve.

Because I still feel like I'm no different than the rest.

If everyone else is involved as just as many things as you are, what makes you more important?

If everyone else starts their own club just like you, what makes you unique?

If everyone else is president of their class, what makes you a better president?

How can I stand out... when colleges are analyzing these applications for the same old specific requirements?