Let the Dream Begin

So it seems you want to join a club! 

It doesn't hurt to join a new club and meet new people with the same interests as you and I really implore you to try it. Not only does it help you get to know others, but yes as many people do if you become an actual member you can put it on your resume. That's usually the number one reason why people join clubs. Right below I'll list the biggest reasons that people join clubs (in no particular order).

1. To put it on your resume.
2. You joined with a friend or to make friends
3. You were actually curious what the club was about or genuinely interested.
4. You wandered into the room and got caught by someone and for some mysterious reason that you refuse to admit, you were roped into keep on coming.
5. More exposure in the yearbook.
6. Or you're a returning member.

There's actually several things you should think about for joining a club.

• Does it apply to your interests? Your future career?
• Why you need to know this is mainly because clubs can help you decide what your next step of action will be - whether it's what college you want to go to with your local school honor society to what career path you want to take from mock trial to fashion club to misc. other clubs. 
• Some clubs that can be helpful are community service clubs like Key Club or Interact (otherwise known as Rotoract) these clubs do a variety of community service activities and help you understand how basic organizations act (since various career fields like the medical, law or educational field have them, it can be mandatory to join.) you'll be able to get a gist of how things work for in the future when you're in those fields.
• When and where do they meet? Does this happen to clash with other club meeting times?
• Why you need to know this is a bit obvious! You can usually find out from your counselors or daily bulletin/broadcast. Sometimes meetings overrun and make you late for other things or you can overbook yourself! Join to have fun, not stress yourself out.
• What kind of club is this? How well are they run/governed? (if you don't like the way a club is governed, don't disregard it! This could be your chance. )
• Many times clubs will have a board, and you'll want to know not how they function, but if the board (or basically the people in charge) are effective. Find people that have been involved with this club for at least 1-2 years. Ask them if you think there are any inefficiencies or things they don't like about the club. 
• DO NOT ASK IN FRONT OF EVERYONE PLEASE. Keep this on the down low, don't be rude and instead discuss this outside when the board members cannot hear you. Frankly, nobody would like it if they heard someone straight out ask, "What's do you not like about this club?" and frankly people answer truthfully without thinking too much, so it could offend some people and lead to unnecessary drama.
• Some clubs are more official (not prominent or special, just more official) than others. You'll find that many clubs begin with, "I call this meeting to order at ____ time," this is usually done for keeping minutes and knowing what exactly happened at each meeting (this is kept by the secretary and turned in to the office) while other clubs are more casual and leisurely like a hangout with friends. 
• If you find you don't like the way a club is run and you may think that this is just another 'resume club' (or a club that does not do anything productive and was found on the basis of putting something on their resume to look more impressive) you can either direct the board on activities you can do, or you can wait until elections and do things yourself. Though this does involve risks because you don't know whether the club will still be up by that time.
•  What kind of people are in this club? Why did they start/join this club? 
• You'll want  to know the basic environment of the club, it's no fun to go to a club just to have a depressing mood after. You usually want to leave smiling ,satisfied or wanting more. Look for friendly or comfortable environments for yourself, if there is a sort of rigid barrier since you're new don't be afraid to introduce yourself, smile and say hello to everyone. It takes a few tries! Don't get discouraged!
• What is a routine meeting like?
• This really varies from club to club. Meetings can be prompt and quick, consist of updating members on upcoming events or informing members about new opportunities. Some meetings will have pot lucks, some will have movies and treats, or ice breakers. DON'T JOIN CLUBS JUST BECAUSE YOU GET TREATS. Treats are nice but WE ALL KNOW what happened to Hansel and Gretel.
• What kind of history/ events has this club had?
• If this club has had a history: some clubs are significantly older - or well-aged. Like wine/cheese. These clubs tend to be more official clubs or have a steady supply of members.
•  Infant clubs are more volatile these clubs usually can be difficult to get started and get the word out so don't blame the board members! 
•  Infant clubs usually should surpass at least 2-4 years of age to surpass infancy so we know that they are stable, even then all clubs are volatile in their own sense, since it's difficult to get more involved members.

Okay, so I know this is a huge list of details to know and you may think that it's not necessary to know, but to be a good member, remember even if you join with ulterior motives, you should join with respect to those who put effort into making it all happen. You can always join with bad motives, just later on try to understand that it's not easy to organize events and get people to show up. Don't belittle other peoples hard work because you don't like the way they do it - it's not reasonable since you didn't see how much stress they went through into making it happen.

 Anyways, after that little rant yes, clubs and extra circulars take work. 

"REALLY? I HAD NO IDEA."

Wake up and smell the coffee darling, if you want to get involved you have to do the work and bust your hump! Meetings are only a small percent of what clubs and extracurriculars are, there's training, orientations, concerts, fundraisers and many more things you could get involved in.

Does it cost money?

It can, but if you work with your board and tell them you need help they will help you! They can't read your mind so let them know. Who knows, maybe someone will be willing to help you out and give you some tips to save money or even cover for you. There's always free events, so there's no excuse for you to push out and say "I had no money/ride so I couldn't go," I understand, it's public education and your argument is that everything should be free, but in the real world, things don't work like that.

 You have to put yourself out there, invest in yourself in order to get something back. Whether it's time or money, that's your choice.Schools literally are very troublesome when it comes to clubs so if they are asking for money, don't disregard, you could be missing out on a huge opportunity. 

Anyways, that's where I'll leave you for this, if you have any questions comment below and I'll get back to you ASAP! 

~Let's take a journey together, and let reality mix with the dream realm~
~Marilyn Nguyen