I joined the improv club on a total whim in the spring of my freshman year of college. Cheerleading had ended for the year and I desperately needed something to take up my time, and while I loved acting in plays and musicals, I didn’t think I was at the level I needed to be to join my school’s theatre program. I had a class with someone in the improv club, and after a lot of careful consideration, I followed her to one of the practices.

I distinctly remember being quite overwhelmed at my first practice. I had only played improv games as warm-ups for theatre practice before, and I had literally no idea what I was doing! But I was hooked. The group’s energy was contagious, the games were fun, and I felt like I learned so much in such a short time. I quickly became friends with a few members of the group, and before I knew it, I was helping to plan practices and shows.

The next year, I really began to be serious about improv. I joined as many shows as I could, and went to all of the practices I was free for. I formed close bonds with the other members, which improved our on-stage chemistry even more. Improv became one of my main commitments in college, something I had never expected to happen.

Improv was the first club that I had a leadership role in, and it helped me learn to organize my thoughts and lead a group. I also learned how to be more confident—or at least, how to fake it—in a performance role, and I began to use my knowledge from improv in other parts of my life. When I applied to be a teacher abroad, improv was one of the main talking points I focused on.

I use my knowledge from the improv club all the time now, even in day-to-day life. I’m very physical when I teach, which usually manifests itself in my jumping around the classroom and acting out everything as dramatically as possible for my students. I’ve used a few of the easier games to help them practice English pronunciation and thinking on their feet, and improv games are often our most popular activities.

I fall back on my improv skills when I meet new people, or when I’m in a situation that might set off my anxiety. One of the most basic rules of improv is called “Yes, and,” and it means accepting whatever information is given to you and building on it. When my co-workers ask me to prepare something for class, I take what they want and build on it. I just gave a presentation the other day, and I had been told that I didn’t need to prepare for it. Like, at all. So instead, I used the skills I’ve gathered from improv and was able to think on my feet to make the presentation informative and also a little entertaining (at least, I hope so!).

I have pretty awful stage fright. I honestly don’t remember much of my first improv show because I spent so much of it in a haze of nerves and fear. But improv has helped me to learn how to handle that fear and perform for others. I’ve found a way to hide away the fear for the sake of the show and work through it. The person on-stage during shows is not the same person that leaves after the performance, and that’s okay.

Improv has helped to change my life in ways that I never expected it to. I’m more confident, more able to think on my feet, and I’ve found a side of me that I never knew existed. I owe a lot to my college improv club! Even though I haven’t been able to practice lately, I plan to drag as many people as possible down the rabbit hole that I willingly jumped down. Improvisation is a necessary skill that everyone should make an effort to improve, and one of the quickest and most fun ways to do it is through an improv club!