When I was a freshman I wanted to do something, I wanted to do multiple things. Now looking back as a senior I realize how different my experiences in college would have been if I hadn't thrown myself into everything college had to offer. For those of you looking to get involved on campus this is my best advice to get involved and make your schedule manageable.
Don't get intimidating after one meeting. There may be over a hundred people at the first club meeting so you don't come back because it is intimidating. The problem with that is 50 other people are thinking the same thing so come the second meeting only 30 people come back anyways. If you are really interested in something don't let numbers deter you. The worst thing you can do is look back on your college experience and wished you tried something.
Be active! Just going to meetings isn't all there is to being involved on campus. If they have an event coming up that needs volunteers, help out! The more you can get involved the more you can discover if this is something that you want to keep putting your time into. If you are active and involved and after a couple months you realize its just not your thing then that's fine! At least you tried, but don't be superficially involved because your friends go or you feel bad dropping out.
Manage your time! As a student leader this is the most important tool I have learned. The club you really like meets on Tuesday nights and you have class Wednesday morning; get your reading and studying done before Tuesday night so you're not missing out because of procrastination. There may be times where you have to miss something because you just have that much to do; don't turn it into a habit! If you do miss email the person in charge and ask what you missed so when you return the next time you already are caught up on what they did last time.
The key to being involved on campus is to find what you love and stick with it. All to often I hear students tell me that they have been meaning to get involved since freshman year and didn't because they were scared to go by themselves or thought that since they weren't freshman anymore it would just be weird. These are both really avoidable excuses and it breaks my heart to hear them because I know that they missed out on stuff. It may be scary but try to do at least one thing!
Trust me, never did I imagine that I would be a student leader, a campus rep, be in a club, and play a sport (and write the occasional article). You can do it, just have confidence in yourself and take that first step and go to a meeting (or practice or whatever else that you want to do has). You won't regret it!
