Words from a wallflower

These past couple weeks have brought me many firsts: my first time acting as a board member for clubs, my first time going to the Block Party, my first time mentoring freshmen, and my first time as a section editor. I was holding back my first two years of college, and now I’m finally getting more involved.

As a freshman, I thought I had enough time over the course of four years to get what I wanted from college. One of those years was shaved off when I found out last semester that I’m graduating early. Honestly, it wouldn’t have mattered if I got all four years. I still would have held off from getting involved because I would have thought I had an extra year.

We talk about procrastination with work and school but not with things that you know you would enjoy if you just got up to do them. That was what I was doing—procrastinating on moments that would elevate my college experience.

This year was my third chance to go to Block Party, but it was the only time I actually went because I knew it would be my last chance to go. Once I was there, I wondered why I hadn’t gone before. I felt like I had missed out.

I’ve heard the saying “There’s a first time for everything” multiple times but would brush it off simply as I don’t have to do anything that would make me uncomfortable. What a lie! I’ve learned that leaning into that discomfort has brought me the best memories; it made me have little breaks from my routine.

I can safely say that it’s not just me who gets stuck in a rut or puts things off because other things seem more important. With it being only a few weeks into the semester, I feel like I’ve done more in this time than I did my entire freshman year just hanging out in my dorm, waiting for something to come to me instead of me going to it.

My advice is to do things that interest you the first chance you get. This should hold some weight to it, as it’s coming from an introvert.