My sagacious cousin told me once that too many people these days play video games and binge-watch Netflix. That’s all fine and good, as from a political science perspective, it would be unconstitutional to force somebody out of their comfort zone. Do these folks need to drop these activities completely? Obviously, the answer is no. But just like with carbohydrates, too much of something isn’t healthy. When I transferred to where I am now, my student orientation leader emphasized the group, sometimes constantly, to be involved. So I decided to, and it seemed terrifying at first, but has made all the difference in the world. The perks that come with campus engagement, however, seem to go unheard by the general society. What are some of them?
1. Community-building.
No sense of community is being made locked up alone in your dorm room. In the real world, sharing standard interests and experiences with another group of individuals is a feeling that usually gives way for personal diversion. Like politics? Join one of the campus party clubs. Are you outdoorsy? Join a hiking club. Or, if you and a group of people like something that has not yet been made into an organization, take the necessary approaches to try and form one. You never know, there will likely be folks that say, “Hey, I’m into this too!”
2. Personal development.
Though a lifelong process, you are at a groundbreaking point in your life’s developmental stage at this point in time. I can say so from personal experience, and that I am relatively ashamed that I hadn’t stepped further out of my comfort zone in high school. In the words of Shia LaBeouf: "JUST DO IT."
3. Social engagement.
One of my favorite quotes is by Joseph Parry: “Make new friends but keep the old. Those are silver, these are gold.” And this is being easily accomplished when somebody partakes in some kind of high-spirited activity and opens themselves up to a wider group of individuals by practicing something better-known as “outgoingness.”
4. Time management.
Everybody needs to have it because it’s essential to life in the outside world. I first started learning it after completing a strenuous project in high school that required a lot of planning. At this time in your life have to balance study sessions and field trips with running club meetings -- you might as well learn now.
5. Leadership and task-orientation.
“Leader” and “boss” are two completely different things. But one can have the qualities of another through earning respect instead of demanding it, saying “we” instead of “I,” sharing credit instead of taking it and being humble instead of assertive.
6. Personal image transformation.
I may have been disruptive and apathetic in middle school, and some of you maybe were too, but I took a different life approach as I began high school, and it has made all the difference. People who get involved usually develop a sense of self-accomplishment and, in the words of a high school friend, "become somebody your younger self would look up to and somebody your older self will be proud of."
