Being involved in school activities has always been important to me and a lot of the people I surround myself with. How I define my involvement depends on after school activities. Playing two sports for the school requires investing a lot of my time out of school, so my free time is very limited. This is actually useful in a way because it keeps me on a productive schedule. However, there are times in between seasons where I am not always sure what to do after school if I do not have studying or homework.

This was particularly difficult for me in my early freshman year because I had not fully immersed myself in the school by joining any clubs or participating in school-sanctioned sports. The days where I did not have sports I would spend my time watching TV or playing video games.Even though I had more free time I was less productive. Starting sophomore year I decided I would join some clubs during the year to keep me occupied when I had off days or was in between a season.This lead me to be more productive and keep myself on a tight schedule.

I learned a lot about myself from these activities and even picked up new interests and hobbies by joining clubs like DECA, Peer to Peer and Devils Den. I realized that I enjoy structure and I found more friends that I could relate to and learn from. Trying out for sports and joining a club should be an exciting new frontier rather than just a requirement for college or a boost to transcripts.

Over the past few years, I believe students have lost that desire to be involved in the school because of any stigmas that may go along with it, which is saddening. This includes events like homecoming and spirit days. The overall participation and excitement for these events have dropped. The answer to solving this issue falls on the students themselves. The best way to promote involvement is by creating more versatile clubs and a wider range of participants. 

Joining these clubs and sports do not only help me academically and physically, but they help me mentally and emotionally. I enjoy coming to school a lot more now that I feel involved and truly apart of something special and great. Getting out there and trying new things has benefitted myself and the school in many ways.