“People who were most successful in the world got involved in societies.”
Starting college can be a very daunting experience for some people, whether you’re starting college for the first time, or starting college again in a brand new course, or an exchange student studying abroad. As a first year myself, I know how nerve-wrecking it can be during those first couple of days when you’re not sure where to go or who to sit beside in class.
That’s where societies come into play. Societies are essential to making your college experience easier and more enjoyable. There are so many benefits from being part of a society, such as making new friends, getting chances to do things you couldn’t before, and sometimes even discovering new talents within yourself.
It does take courage to just go and do things without knowing anybody but the society’s committee and other members of the society, who have already done the whole “nervous first year” thing, know how it feels and will help out anyway they can and make sure that everyone is involved.
A huge benefit of societies is that you get an opportunity to develop different skills and do activities that you never would have gotten the chance to do elsewhere or that you never had thought of doing before. There are so, so many societies you could join, from caving to martial arts to Harry Potter- anything you can think of. And if there isn’t a society there for you, you can create your own society!
Even if you don’t get involved in a society, there are always events being held by different societies that are open to everyone. You don’t have to be a member of a society to enjoy the benefits of them.
Speaking from my own experience, the best way to get involved in societies is to just dive right in. Don’t shy away from opportunities and try to do as much things as possible. I’m a member of the Media Production Society and I signed up for their internal trip to Belfast just about a month after college had started.
I didn’t know anyone going on the trip and I was wondering whether I should go or not. In the end, I’m so glad I went because I definitely would not have some of the friends I have now if I didn’t go. Societies are a great way to widen your circle of friends as they’re made up of people from all different courses.
It’s great to be able to take a break from course work and assignments and just doing something you enjoy and get more involved in college life. Societies really help you to develop new skills, open opportunities for you, give you the chance to meet more people with similar interests to yours and overall have more fun in college.
Image credit dcusu.ie