From the first time you stepped onto your college campus, I can bet one of the first things you were told was to "get involved right away!" Maybe you took it seriously, or maybe you thought it was just something people said because they had to (I promise no one just "says this" first of all...). Hopefully you were the first choice because, despite how big of a life-changing event college is, this is important. This is important for your now and your future. This is important for your enjoyment of college. This is important for the sake of you.

1. You get to take risks (in the best way possible).

In the words of Paulo Coelho, "Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience." Do not be afraid to try out something you never thought you would get involved with. Your experience can (and most likely will) change your mind. Maybe you'll realize it is still something you wouldn't totally commit yourself to, but maybe you'll realize it was one of the best decisions of your life. You will never know until you try. Try everything and anything. Join a club you saw advertised on the first day or audition for the musical your roommate told you about...whatever you do...do not be afraid of doing it.

2. You get to find your passions.

Once I began to take risks and grow my experiences, I was lead down the path of finding my passions. Over the past two years of my undergraduate career, many of the organizations I joined when I first came to college are still the ones I am presently involved with. They are some of the best things I could have ever been apart of and have truly become a part of who I am. The more I got involved with the organization, the more I came to love it. Take the powerful connection you feel with an organization and grow with it. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.

3. You meet some pretty great people.

Once I found out what I loved being involved with, I found the people I want to surround myself with. Being with like-minded people allowed me to form friendships and connections I would never want to take back. Even just recognizing faces on campus can make you feel known and that you're not just another on campus. Furthermore, who doesn't want to be the person walking around campus knowing nearly everyone they walk by (not saying I know "everyone," but I do know a decent amount due to my involvement.)

4. You learn to love your school & beat homesickness.

Transitioning to college is easily one of the hardest things any student may have to go through. Perhaps the school you are attending wasn't your first choice, or even your second. Maybe you're planning on spending the first semester looking at your hometown friend's social media just to feel closer to home. Despite how you may feel currently about your school, it does not have to stay that way. There's no better way to beat the hometown blues than by learning what your school has to offer. Your college was created for you. They know you have potential on their campus, that's why they want you there. So take advantage of this mindset and learn to grow from the opportunities that are available to you on campus. The more time you're involved, the less time you're thinking about friends back home.

5. You learn to be more successful.

It may seem counteractive to say the more involved you are, the better your college grades & success can be...but it can happen. Of course there are some constraints such as not being too involved, but overall your success in college can lay in the arms of being involved. While being involved you learn time management, spend more time on campus, and increase your connections with faculty and staff. All of these can be positive contributors to your college experience. With time management, you learn where your priorities stand and how much time you need to devote to academics. You won't have as much free time once you start committing yourself to an organization, so you need to know when to be productive and when it's okay to have some downtime. By spending more time on campus, you're likely to grow connections to faculty and students who can serve as mentors for classes you may be struggling with.

"Students ought to seek out campus communities where they feel not only empowered to engage their talents, but also challenged to leave their comfort zones. The ability to embrace new opportunities emerges, in part, from a willingness to take risks and to fail." - Drew Gilpin Faust