Getting involved on a big campus like Ohio State might feel overwhelming. The involvement fair takes forever to walk through, and you miss half of the tables you wanted to see. The day is always hot and we're all covered in sweat. You hate the crowd but you go for the free food, of course.
If you can't handle the crowds (I know I can't), get the free food and run. Go on your laptop and check out the Ohio State Union's list of clubs and groups to join. That's what I did when I was feeling under-involved. I saw so many clubs and groups that interested me without having the awkward conversations with the groups I didn't care to join.
Getting involved is important. You're living away from home and usually have a lot of free time. You need to fill that time in a productive way, not just doing homework, going to parties, attending football games and repeating the cycle.
Joining clubs allows you to make friends who share your interests and goals. You might even find your best friend or soulmate. Who knows? If you love bread, there's a club for that. If you like anime, there's a club for that. If you like to do yoga, guess what? There's a club for that too. Our school is made up of a large, diverse student body. You can find an organization for almost anything you are interested in. If you can't, you'll probably find enough interested people who would help you start your own club.
Clubs aren't the only things to join here. There's also intramural or club sports. If you miss the glory days of being your high school soccer captain, get back in the game! Working out in the gym can get boring and monotonous. Athletic games make exercise fun and easy. They're not always a huge time commitment, and once again, it's another way to make friends who share your interests.
If you're looking for a social and academic type organization, GO GREEK! There are so many subdivisions of Greek Life at Ohio State that you're bound to find something that fits your needs.
If you're looking to make new friends and also get an edge in the job market, these are for you. There is the more common PHA social sorority or IFC social fraternity, that we find most common in college. There are also the multicultural or national panhellenic council greek systems. The honor or major based co-ed fraternities are academic based and offer job insight and guidance, while helping you make future business contacts.
One of my biggest regrets of freshman year is not getting involved prior to joining Greek Life. I should've joined the cooking club or the running club. Maybe looked into OUAB. I regret not getting more involved from the beginning.
There are so many opportunities to branch out and we should all take advantage of our resources. Not everyone gets to go to such an active and involved school like The Ohio State University!
