Being a freshman can be incredibly overwhelming, especially at first. High school is a completely different environment than middle school; entering a new building with hundreds of people you have never seen before is intimidating. With so many classes available, activities to join, and people to meet, you may be clueless about where to start. One of my biggest pieces of advice—and I wish I knew this as a freshman—is to find something you are interested in and get involved. Joining something is easier said than done, but once you take the steps and commit to it, you will be changed for the better.

​

The first thing you need to do is consider your interests—what do you like to do? There is no point in joining a club irrelevant to you. To find the list of groups available at the high school, go to the Brandon Valley High School home page, click the Students drop down arrow, and select Clubs and Organizations. This takes you to a list of groups you are able to join as well as a short description of each one. Once you find one that appeals to you, keep an eye on the announcements. Meeting times and activities for each club will be listed there throughout the month.

​

Finding a club to join is the easy part, attending a meeting for the first time is the biggest challenge. The main thing to understand is everyone is incredibly welcoming to new people. Everyone there is interested in a common thing, meaning you instantly have something to bond over. If you are worried about going alone, encourage a friend to attend a meeting with you. This gives you quality time with a friend while also allowing you to meet new people. After you attend your first meeting, the rest is so easy. All you have to do is continue to show up!

​

Once you become a member of a club—or multiple—you will learn so many things and find yourself growing as a person. First of all, you will meet tons of new people and form friendships you might have never had otherwise. Clubs teach you how to be a part of something bigger than yourself. They expose you to all different types of people and teach you how to work and communicate with others. For the rest of your life you will be working with others, so it is extremely beneficial to begin working on this skill now. Most importantly, clubs are fun. Regardless of what you join, you will participate in fun and meaningful activities. They give you something to look forward to when school becomes too repetitive.

​

Now that you know how easy it is, get involved! Being a freshman is like being a blank canvas—there are so many opportunities you can take advantage of to help develop you into what you were meant to be. Take a risk and put yourself out there. You can always try something else if you don’t like it, but you will never know unless you try. No one can get through this life alone, so go out and get involved.