_Emmett Ferguson is a freshman journalism major at MU. He is an opinion columnist that writes about student life for The Maneater._
Stress. Everywhere. Deadlines, exams and papers; all your homework and extracurriculars just seem to keep piling up, and we are only a month in. There’s more anxiety on campus than there is cheap beer in Greektown. This stress isn’t going anywhere, and it’ll only get worse. That’s not even the worst part, though. The real kicker is that you should welcome it with open arms.
If you look at all the things that are taking up your time, odds are you’ll find that much of it is not even from your classes. Even though you have tests to study for, homework to do and things to look up on Wikipedia, most of your free time is probably occupied by all the things you’ve decided to get involved with outside of class. Everyone has warned you about this: overextending yourself, especially freshman year. But don’t listen to them. College is the time to explore your interests and find what you love to do. If that means joining 15 different clubs, so be it.
The main reason why you should try new things in attempt to find what you like to do is that this is your best opportunity to do so. If you happened to go to the activities fair, odds are you were overwhelmed with everything you could get involved with. Whether you want to join KCOU to try and be on the radio, or join Quidditch to try and fulfill a childhood dream of being Harry Potter, there is something, or several somethings, for everyone. If something interests you, you may as well give it a shot and see if it’s something you would want to invest more time into. There really is no other time in your life when you can get a taste of so many different things, so you really should take advantage of this and broaden your palate.
Find what you love freshman year and then stick with that. Just because you join a club freshman year doesn’t mean you’re committed to that for life. (Unless, of course, you end up on a mass email list; that stuff stays with you like an STD.) You can try it out for one year or even one semester. Once you’ve found what you legitimately enjoy, you can drop some other time commitments and become more involved with that organization in particular. That way you’ll know for sure that it is the one you want to do.
Joining clubs makes a big campus feel a heck of a lot smaller. Regardless of whether you stay involved, you are going to meet new people and make friends whether or not you are in the same club. If you do happen to stay in that organization, you are pretty much guaranteed to have a group of people to spend time with. It’s probably the easiest way to meet similar people because you know that everyone has at least one interest in common with you.
You’ll regret it if you don’t. I don’t know of anyone who regrets trying out a new club. The worst thing that can happen is that you go to an interest meeting and decide it isn’t for you. However, many people who have tried to give something a shot now love it. No matter what people say about overextending yourself, it can be beneficial. Just remember, [no ragrets](https://66.media.tumblr.com/7194e3cb1ef3e53d76b10667b36c8f35/tumblr_n1071r2GpZ1qaho1po5_250.gif).
