Classes are underway, and soon we will be busy as deadlines start to roll around, and quizzes and tests begin to consume our lives.

It is so easy to get overwhelmed with academics, and sometimes we feel like we are too tired, or just do not want, to get involved with anything. I understand this perspective - trust me, I have weeks where I doggy-paddle through my course work.

However, being involved should not be seen as a chore or a hassle. You should not dread it or resent it. If you do, then maybe you have yet to find things that set you on fire.

In college especially, it can be easy to feel awkward or timid about getting involved. There are so many people, and it is sometimes out of our comfort zone.

My advice to you is: do it anyway.

Take that first step out of your zone. Meet people who you normally would not meet. Try an organization that interests you. Do something that enlightens the lives of others. Apply - and if you do not get it, do not be discouraged. Keep your head up and keep trying. These four (or more) years help shape the rest of our lives. Find your thing and invest yourself in it.

Academics are great, they are the reason we come to college, but there are only so many things we can learn in a classroom.

Here are just a few things we cannot learn well within the classroom:

- how to love others well

- how to be selfless

- how to give back

- the difference perspectives of others

- how to work with those unlike you

These five things are what I think becoming involved has taught me most.

In high school, and college, getting involved in different communities, events, and organizations, has been one of the biggest blessings to me. Involvement offers me a variety of new friends and opportunities that otherwise I would not have. Being involved on campus has given me an amazing network of student leaders that I have to look up to and work alongside.

If you are considering becoming involved in something new, whether you are planning on applying to one organization, or ten, I encourage you to go for it.

You never know how much impact you will have on others, and others will have on you. It may mean having less time during the week for laying out, or watching Netflix, but I assure you that it is so worth it. Find something that you love, and pursue it wholeheartedly.

I have never heard anyone say, "I wish I was not involved," rather, the other way around. It is better to stick your toes in the water, only to decide that something is not for you, than to never try. This is a new year, offering new friends, new adventures, and new opportunities. What you do with those opportunities is up to you.

Get involved!