During my first week at Curtis, I knew very few people, spoke to very few of my classmates, and honestly, I was miserable.’

Almost two years ago I wrote those exact words for my first story for the Curtis Log, and since then things have changed tremendously. I went into high school frightened. I was paranoid that I would make no friends and suffer through the next four years, yet I can confidently say that my outlook has changed since then. I am no longer the person I was two years ago. I am much more outspoken and comfortable in my own shoes, I’m no longer scared of eye contact, and more importantly I’ve formed bonds with many of my classmates.

‘As a freshman myself, this task of finding a voice has led me into joining quite a few clubs. These clubs range from Writer’s Club, to Anime Club, to of course Newspaper.’

Two years ago I was very passionate about joining clubs and being comfortable at my own school, and it’s not that I don’t feel the same, however I’ve deprioritized after school activities and bent my focus to my academics. In fact, the entirety of sophomore year I went to no clubs, I generally went to school then went straight home unless I was staying for tutoring. Now in my junior year I’m slowly trying to pace myself back into the clubs I enjoyed my freshman year, such as newspaper.

My advice to you would be to join clubs your interested in and then stick to the ones you really enjoy.  If academics gets in the way take a break from them.  Remember though colleges look for well rounded students, not just ones with high grades.