Do you ever have the feeling that you're a small fish in a big pond? The feeling that people just can't see your potential. You've made it this far, you're at a top university, why is it harder to join clubs than it was to get in to this school in the first place? We all get this feeling once in a while. My advice? Don't you dare give up.
In life there are going to be lots of things that we want that we don't get at first. This may be a hard concept to grasp because we were all top dogs at our high schools. That is how we made it here in the first place. The reality is, everyone at Cornell was once at the top, and now we're all competing against each other. Competing for spots in clubs or societies or whatever you're going for is great practice for your future. In the real world things are not going to be just handed to you, and you're going to experience disappointment. You're going to walk out of an interview someday feeling great and then not get the job. Sorry. This doesn't make you a failure, it doesn't have any indication of who you are as a person or how smart you are. Sometimes things just don't work out in our favor.
Play to your strengths and your passions. People can tell when you don't really want something. In high school it's all about getting involved in everything and equal opportunities. Well this is not high school anymore. People don't care about making sure everyone has a chance. You have to go out and make things happen. If you're really good at soccer try out for the soccer team, not the tennis team. If you really love acting try out for a school production, not the debate team because someone told you that's what law school admission boards want to see. That's not to say you can't try something new, but there are clubs that cater to people who want to try something new and there are clubs who will cut people if they're not up to the clubs standards.
Sometimes you will get cut from something that you really felt you could be great in. Go back and try again. You never really know who you're competing against, it may not be about you but about how many people they can take.
When you don't get something you want are you just going to sulk or are you going to fight for yourself. My mother always says "you are your greatest advocate". Who is going to believe in you more than yourself? You didn't get a spot in the business frat you so badly wanted to be in? Go back and rush next semester, show them that you're dedicated and that you believe in yourself.
It's hard not to get discouraged but disappointment makes success that much sweeter.
"Nothing worth having in this world ever came easy" - Scrubs
