Some things we do for fun, and others because we are actually pretty serious about them. Maybe the activities are related to long term goals, or maybe they are something that have a significance because of what they stand for. I know my activities have run the range of those categories, and though it may seem unfocused, I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
One of the most interesting twists I’ve noticed from high school to college is the amount of activities I’m doing outside of classes, and how they are similar and different. Back in high school, library volunteering and Science Olympiad were my two favorite activities. Nowadays, library volunteering is a peripheral activity (I did a lot of it more back home), and science is all but absent from my schedule outside of my lab science GE that I’m taking this semester.
I did dabble in science… Above is a photo from Science Olympiad at State my junior year of high school.
From all of the activities I did in high school, I find that I’ve funneled down into a smaller number that I commit large chunks of time to per week, versus in high school where it was medium chunks to many activities.
This funneling has allowed me to zero in on things that I have identified as continuing (or even new) interests. Like library volunteering, I also did a bit of journalism and yearbook in high school. Flash forward to now: I’m working for The Student Life and for the yearbook at Scripps. I’ve started ballroom here at the Claremont Colleges as well (one of those I’ve-always-admired-this-but-never-tried-until-now things).
If I look at what I’m doing for extra curricular activities, I can gather some helpful tidbits of information about what I’m interested in. First off, as much as I enjoy ballroom, I do not have the skill set to become a pro (nor an interest in being a pro). It’s a more casual, productive, and fun activity that stretches my artistic side.
Some things that I’ve ascertained from my other activities are that I enjoy collaboration/working with people, I like being able to support a cause, and I like to help deliver ideas clearly. Though I may never work as a copy editor for a newspaper after college, being one has given me some ideas about what type of work could interest me, or at least be an application of my interest area.
What have you learned about your interest through the activities you participate in? I’d love to hear your comments below!