Most people don't give much thought to getting involved in
school activities until they are already hooked.
The fact is that participation in extracurricular activities
is essential for your success in life. How can a few meetings
and a car wash
totally change your life and how can you become and stay involved?
I will tell you how and give you some steps for getting involved.
First, it is important to know why you should participate
in extracurricular activities. The abilities that you master
will help you throughout your life. I am a firm believer that
leaders are not born,they are made. Some people have
a charisma for dealing with people, but until you are in
a situation that calls for decision making and action, no
one knows how they will react. If you put yourself in a situation
where you deal with these situations frequently, you are going
to get better at making the right decisions all the time.
Not only do you develop leadership and decision making abilities,
but you also increase your creativity, your organizational
skills, your management of time, and your people skills. These
are all important for anything that you do. For the rest of
your life, you will have to associate with different kinds
of people. You will have a family and a job vying
for your time. You will have to come up with new ways of doing
things whether it is driving a new route to work or designing
a new building. Finally, to be able to do all of these things,
you must be able to organize your life. These skills are not
developed overnight. You cannot wait until the last minute,
so start now.
Then how do you get started? Here I have some easy steps
for you to follow:
STEP 1: You must decide what your interests are. You don't
want to become a member of the Math Club if you hate to add
numbers together. You won't be committed to your organization
if you are not truly interested in what they are trying to
accomplish. Sit down and make a list of things you like to
do in your spare time.
STEP 2: Find an organization that fits your interests. If
you are not already aware of a club in your town, call someone
who might know. Check with a school counselor or secretary
or maybe contact your community's Chamber of Commerce. They
can all put you in touch with the appropriate people.
STEP 3: Call the contact person. Don't be embarrassed or
scared. Organizations are always looking for new members.
You will probably be welcomed with open arms.
STEP 4: Get involved in the organization from the beginning.
Remember, the goal is to have fun and develop skills. You
can't accomplish either of these things if you don't attend
meetings. Try to earn a leadership position. Don't start with
President. Instead, you should try to learn as much as possible
about the mission and goals of the organization, so start
with a lower office and work your way up.
Those are my steps to success, but what are you trying to
succeed at? Not only have you developed skills that you will
use throughout your life, but you have made a network of people
that will help you in your future, and you have made yourself
a very marketable individual. You can be taught many things
from books; however, you can only develop leadership through
experience. Besides, you get to have fun doing it along the
way.
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