One of the benefits that Penn State admissions pushes onto prospective students is that they have over 1,000 clubs that you can join. While this sounds so inspiring and gives very little room to ever be bored on campus, your schedule can start to look a little overwhelming.
What they don’t tell you about all the clubs is that more than half of them run at the same time on the same exact day of the week. So, that theory of saying “yes” to everything when you get to college to ensure the optimal experience is sort of out the window.
Instead of saying “yes” to everything and letting people down by not following through with commitments, VALLEY is going to teach you how to confidently say no.
Let’s Get Our Priorities Straight
Freshman and sophomore years are usually when you find your groove with the few clubs and organizations you want to join and really make your mark in. We also join for an abundance of reasons like career aspirations, hobbies, physical activity or philanthropy.
What you’ll come to notice though is that those clubs that make your resume look like gold also happen to fall on the same night that your favorite frat is throwing.
This is typically what happens: the group chat you have with all your friends starts blowing up when word hits that this frat is hosting a glow themed party, so obviously attendance is mandatory. Outfits are being sent in for a majority vote and tops are being traded around.
With the excitement of a girls night out on the town (or more disappointingly known as frat row), you remember that you signed up for a really important event with an organization that you would like to be the president of one day.
The thought of sending the “hey sorry I can’t make it tonight I have a fever” text strolls across your mind, but then you also remember you were raised better than that.
So what is it going to be, your future or the dance floor?
The Party Will Always Be There
Let’s get one thing straight: your friends are not going to forget about you if you miss a night out, and if they do you should probably reconsider that relationship as a whole.
From experience, there is nothing more rewarding than bettering yourself in a field you are passionate about. This could either be an organization where you do mock trials and get experience as a defense attorney or playing flag football at the IM.
It is okay to be overbooked, just buy a pink planner from Target to store your events and you’ll be in good shape.
Let us know @VALLEYmag on all socials what clubs you are a part of!
