Coming into college, I knew I wanted to make one change in particular. This change was to make sure to take advantage of every opportunity that interests me. It's halfway through the semester and I'm more than grateful that I have adapted this change into my lifestyle.

A mistake that I made continuously throughout my high school experience is that I would let all of the opportunities slide simply because I missed the "first meeting" or hoped that I had other things coming my way. Because of this, I only took advantage of one or two in-school activities, leaving the rest of my extracurriculars to be out-of-school work. Even though it's good to be involved in out-of-school services, the difference is that I didn't actively search for those roles myself. Either my parents or other family friends would let us know about them and I would participate in them from those connections.

After thinking about those choices, I would have appreciated all of those experiences a lot more if I was actually "involved" in them. I was physically there, but I never appreciated it as much as I cherish my experiences now.

I knew this was a change I had to make immediately since I had to learn how to be independent and try to search for those opportunities myself. As soon as classes began, there were a bunch of applications and clubs that I was interested in. The process was so overwhelming, but I managed to narrow it down to a few clubs and apply for those executive board positions. Unfortunately, I didn't get any of those positions, but I'm just grateful that I jumped after those opportunities. I didn't hesitate one bit and instead, I decided to put effort into the activities that attracted me.

Even though I'm consistently filling out applications with the idea that I may possibly be rejected, it's the process of learning that counts. So far, I've learned that I need to work on my interviewing skills and skills related to that area. You can learn a lot from just going after opportunities that intrigue you.

This change I have made in my life has greatly impacted me socially and academically. It's important for everyone to go after what they want. If something really amuses you, then you should go after it and don't ever regret the chance you made.

We should be very appreciative of all the opportunities that constantly surround us. Even if something slightly interests you, then take the chance. There is a risk of failure, but that's not as valuable when thinking about the learning experience you get from the opportunity itself or the self-reflection you get from not receiving the opportunity.

Keep jumping after every opportunity and you will be forever grateful you did.