College is the time to explore your interests and put yourself out there to start becoming who you aspire to be if you haven’t already started either of these. Extracurricular activities offer both a way to work in areas you are passionate about that aren’t necessarily within your major and a way to strengthen your social skills. At the University of Southern California, we have clubs and organizations for gardening, tutoring, intramural sports, juggling, photography, career exploration and just about everything in-between.

I recently pledged with Alpha Phi Omega, a coed service fraternity exemplifying the principles of leadership, friendship and service. I am dedicated to community service and it is more than an obligation as a member of society; performing community service is something I genuinely enjoy. APO constantly has service events to sign up for and the fraternity is like a big family. I absolutely love the people and the service opportunities.

Besides APO, I have also recently become a member of a tutoring organization and building government, to name a couple. I have always been interested in tutoring and leading a community of people but have never taken that step towards doing so until now.

In connection with the previous paragraph, extracurricular activities allow you to finally dive into something you’ve been wanting to learn about but have not previously had the chance to do so. One of the best things about college organizations is that most of them are readily available and will provide you with specific outings or opportunities to do whatever it is that the org is all about. And if you want to incorporate a new event, the members are always willing to hear you out.

I have been known as a quiet person throughout the majority of my life, and each year I crawled out of my shell a teeny bit further. This year, however, I have been “louder” than ever and less afraid to voice my opinion. I attribute this mainly to my extracurricular activities because I couldn’t blend in and be a nobody if I was to make it past the interview portions or if I was to make a good first impression. Instead of being forced out of my shell, I wanted to be louder and have a bigger role on campus so I pushed myself to do so.

Because of APO and my other organizations, and even work, I have a people to reach out to and that I enjoy talking to. I cannot stress enough how helpful clubs are as far as making friends. If you want to make friends within your major but are still iffy about talking in class, join a club related to your major! I went to a few Environmental Student Assembly meetings (since I’m an environmental studies major) and recognized easily half of the people there.

Another thing I adore about clubs is that they give you something to do! I prefer being busy because it increases my sense of productivity and I know that I am actually doing something with my time.

It is never too late to join a club. Freshman year was a mess, to be honest, and I did not want a repeat of that so I turned myself around this year as a sophomore and worked on/am working on being involved. I’ve learned to just go for it and take a chance. Go find a club that suits you – I guarantee you there will be at least one!