First Year Focus

Extra Extra

Okay, so maybe I've gone a little overboard with the double-repeat titles. All the same, I feel that this one really fit today's topic: extracurricular activities.

With the stress of classes and adjustments to a new kind of life, some college students (read: pre-meds) don't feel as though they can handle a tough schedule and still manage to find an activity they enjoy and have time to do on the side. I say they're crazy. With so many things to do in college, and so much more of an opportunity to make a real difference than most people can possibly have in high school, extracurricular activities are both a phenomenal way to do something worthwhile and to have fun while doing it.

The difference is, it's absolutely necessary to prioritize. High school students can get away with doing 10 different activities at the same time, and even assuming leadership positions within their respective groups. It doesn't work that way at college. The key is to know your options, find one or two activities you absolutely love, and stick with them.

Here are a few of those awesome opportunities.

1. Journalism!!! Now you get the corny reason this title was so appropriate. Not all colleges have stellar newspapers, but the great majority of them do have some form of publication, and to be honest, a newspaper is only as impressive as the students themselves make it. Mad props to my friends here at the Chronicle! (http://www.chronicle.duke.edu) Getting on the staff of these papers is anything but difficult -- most will simply let you join and give you a story, a chance to prove yourself, I suppose. After that, there are tons of opportunities for leadership, no matter where your interest in journalism lies. Every paper needs layout editors, advertising people, artists, marketers, and more as well as reporters and editors. The same goes for the time commitment -- no one's going to force you to write a story if you don't have time to do it, but the more you do, the more you will consequently be asked to do in the future. What's more, the friendships formed on a college paper staff are often incredibly close, since everyone is under stress together when deadline time rolls around (and since the higher-ups spend a lot of time together deciding exactly what's going to go in the paper.) Quite honestly, working for the Chronicle this year has been one of the best experiences, if not the absolute best, of my time as a freshman. And I'm not leaving until they make me (i.e., until I graduate.)

2. Greek life may not be for everyone, but for those who decide they want to be in a fraternity or sorority, it can be an extremely fulfilling experience. On the outside, these groups may look like drinking clubs in which no one is actually friends at all. Try it from the inside, though, and there's a whole different story. At least this has been my personal experience. A sorority sister is someone who can always offer you a shoulder to cry on, a smile on the walkway, or a chance to get out on a Friday night -- in other words, a friend. And you'll find that they're not "friends in a package," as some say. On the contrary, the reason Greek organizations sometime seem so homogenous is that they recruit people with whom they're going to have something in common. Don't you already automatically do this with your own friends?

3. Surprise! You don't have to be Grant Hill to succeed in college athletics. Most universities have plenty of competitive athletic programs that operate on many levels. IM, club, and varsity sports all fill their niches, and basically anyone can get involved. There's also a wide variety of sports to play -- even skydiving and ballroom dancing.

4. The arts are a great way to get involved on campus, whether that's photography and visual art, dance, theatre, music, or anything else in the category. It's also a chance to express yourself, which can be quite a relief when you feel overwhelmed by the huge number of people on a college campus.

5. Why not run for an office in student government? Better yet, why not check out the list of organizations (www.duke.edu/org/org.html) on campus maintained by our own student government, then make a decision?