Throughout my life, I have been in more clubs and activities than I can count. I love being overly involved at all times, even if it stresses me out on a regular basis. Joining groups helped me find myself and make so many new friends. They all made me who I am today, but there are some specific ones that I know really changed my life around completely. Here are 10 groups that changed my life and why you should let them change yours too.
1. Girl Scouts
I joined The Girl Scouts of America very early in elementary school. It was a place for me to go and meet friends, make crafts, and plan what I now understand was volunteer work. While it is true that not all Girl Scout troops do much community service, I still feel that it was a great group for me to be in. It developed my people skills young, as well as my love of community and my leadership skills. Start young and keep doing it! I wish I had!
2. Books Of Hope
When I was in 6th grade, a teacher brought a program to our school called Books of Hope. We spent around one day a week after school writing short stories as a group, and over time we wrote individual short stories. At the end of the year, we bound these short stories and sent them to children in Uganda. While this specific program is not running, there are still plenty of other similar programs online. I urge you to look into it because this was such a rewarding extracurricular.
3. Cheerleading
It might differ at your school, but cheerleading has been such an important experience for me. I cheered from third to 12th grade and loved every moment of it. Not only did I learn memorization skills, dancing and flexibility, but I learned how to handle haters.
One year while I was in cheerleading, online bullying became a big thing at my school. The team was targeted as a whole, but there were also individuals, including myself, that were targeted. It was hard, but throughout it all, I knew the people that really mattered loved me. Cheerleading gave me a huge sense of belonging. I loved every moment of cheering with my girls.
4. Choir
Singing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, so in eighth grade I finally joined the choir. This taught me how to improve my singing as well as gave me countless other opportunities. Starting my sophomore year, I began to get super-involved in choir and became the secretary. My junior and senior year I was elected president! I was able to work side-by-side with my directors to plan and execute various events. Choir enhanced my love of music and singing as well as gave me huge leadership experiences. Choir isn't a sport, but we are a team, so I also got to experience what it was like to be on a huge singing team!
5. Show Choir
While it's similar to choir, show choir gave me such a different experience. I got to learn how to dance and sing at the same time, which helped me later in drama. My show choir was always extremely close-knit; we were a big family. My first year in show choir I got to choreograph two different dances, which gave me experience for when I had to create cheers for our cheer squad! Show choir will be different everywhere, but overall, it's a super fun experience that I think would be great for anyone!
6. The All Ohio State Fair Youth Choir
My experience with this choir has been absolutely the most life-changing experience. I was in the choir for four years and, in that time, I was given so many opportunities that I never would've imagined having. From learning 30 songs in less than a month to mentoring new members to being the choral assistant and partially in charge of the entire Soprano 1 section, the AOSFYC really has changed me for good. If you are a 9-12th grader who is involved in singing and goes to school in Ohio, you can apply for this amazing 18-day experience. Read more or apply at aosfyc.org.
7. The Scarlet Singers
This group is made out of the larger 200-person AOSFYC but focuses more on extremely challenging music. In this group, I got to enhance my music skills even further as well as get to perform for smaller, more intimate events. We tend to perform a capella music, and because we spend extra time together, we become even closer and even more like a "family."
8. Drama Club
My junior year in high school, my school started a drama club. That year I was the treasurer, but since we were a newly-formed club, there wasn't much to do. The next year, though, I became co-president. This job gave me so many duties and really helped me become a leader. My co-president and I had to do things such as plan meetings, collect money, plan various events both inside and outside of school, advertise, record our members and their standings, and delegate some of these tasks to officers, among so many other things. Overall, drama club was a place we could all come and be our authentic selves, even though we spent a large portion of our time acting. I can't imagine my high school career without this group.
9. The International Thespian Society
When we started a drama club, we also got the chance to become part of this society. It is basically an Honor Society for thespians. Each year, members and potential members get the chance to go to the state conference. This is such a great experience. It's an entire weekend full of friends, workshops, plays, and musicals. It reinforces our love of the dramatic arts as well as gives us the chance to meet so many new people with the same interests as us. It is an amazing conference and group with so much to offer.
10. The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls
This group is a Masonic-affiliated youth service organization. It is open to girls ages 11-20 and does not take place in a school, so while you might have to travel farther to take part, you will most likely be able to be a part of this group. I joined only a short two years ago, but I have already learned so much and met so many new people. This group stands for so many things, but for me, it's extremely empowering. Going to grand assembly and being with hundreds of other girls with similar experiences is eye-opening. In general, it's such a different kind of organization, which is one of the many reasons I love it so much. Once a rainbow girl, always a rainbow girl.
With involvement being such a big part of my life, these groups were obviously going to change me in some ways. Little did I know, they would each make me who I am today. Get involved, make new experiences, and don't be afraid to have a few different "families."