School is officially upon us! One of the best ways to make the most out of your educational experience is to get involved in a school sanctioned activity. This can be in a sports team, club or a specific class that is interesting to you. Yes, getting involved takes time, but there are a number of benefits that outweigh the time cost.
You can make new friends.
If you’re in a club or sports team, chances are, you’re interested in that specific hobby (why else would you join?). The other members of the group are also probably interested in the same hobby. Sharing a common interest makes for the perfect conversation starter and is a key ingredient in the friendship recipe.
You can push yourself and learn more about who you are.
Extracurriculars can push us mentally, physically, creatively and even socially. When you work to develop these areas of your life, you will discover things about yourself you’ve never realized before.
Maybe you never ran a mile in your life and now you’re suddenly running 3 miles every day. Or maybe you’ve discovered certain skills just come naturally, like coding or public speaking. Whatever you discover, it will help you grow as a person and can help shape your future.
You can discover a new passion.
Similar to food, you’ll never know if you like something if you don’t at least try it once.
You learn a slew of important life skills.
Since the extra-curricular activity isn’t the only thing you have going on in your life (remember that thing called school?) you’ll learn valuable skills like time management and prioritizing, both of which are extremely important for college and your future career. There are a number of other life skills you’ll learn such as working in a team, communicating with others, and leadership, just to name a few.
You can earn scholarships.
Most state schools don’t look too closely at your extracurricular activities for the college application, but you can bet your bottom dollar that scholarship committees do. They want to make sure you can handle multiple projects at once and that you won’t let stress get the best of you in college. There are also scholarships specifically for certain hobbies or talents, like duck calling.
So, find something you’re interested in and go to a meeting, practice or class and try it out! You never know, it could introduce you to your new best friend, favorite hobby or a nice lump of cash.
CCPE 