This semester, I promised myself I’d get out of my comfort zone for the better. Too often we find ourselves in this Monday through Friday lull where we’ve gotten used to the schedule we’ve set for ourselves, and all we do is blindly follow it. Dear readers, I hope you add some spice into your lives every once in a while, especially if that spice is adding an interesting club to your lineup.
We’re creeping up to the halfway point of this semester, and I sincerely hope that you’ve found something at UF that you’re passionate about. Whether it be Greek life, an underwater basket-weaving club or anything in between. If you haven’t, that’s fine too, because you’ve got the other half of this semester to do something about that.
Often our parents or adults (I mean real adults, not us) talk about how college was the best time of their lives, and they went on all of these crazy and life-changing adventures. I’d like to think that part of the reason they say this is because they were a part of something they cared about in college.
Your first reflex might be to say that you’ve got something you’d like to be a part of on your mind, but it has nothing to do with your major. I’d like to tell you that you should go for it, especially if it isn’t part of your major. Try a cooking club. Try scuba diving. Do something that makes you get out of your comfort zone, because some of the best things that have happened to me while at UF have been as a result of me getting out of my cushy shell.
Two and a half years ago, I started writing for the Alligator. I was horrible. I essentially wrote a research paper as my first article, and it took me two weeks to get the 500-word piece published. Somewhere along the line, I threw my AP stylebook (the book that’s basically our journalism bible) across my dorm room because I was frustrated and irritated by how little I knew about writing a hard news piece. Earlier this week, one of my articles for The Gainesville Sun got put on an Associated Press budget, which later resulted with my story in The Seattle Times and U.S. News. Something like that never would have happened if I hadn’t kept up with the Alligator, or if I’d been too shy about writing for them to begin with. Yes, it was hard at first, but anything worthwhile in life is.
My point, dear readers, is that I want you to go out and be a part of something at UF, or even not related to UF, that matters to you regardless of if it’s part of your major. Who knows — if you’re passionate enough about it, it might be the reason you switch your major or even land your future job.
Yesterday while I was covering a story, I ended up meeting a UF political science sophomore who told me she had always been curious about journalism, but she was already too far in her political science track. When I come across conversations like this, I feel a slight sadness come over me. You’re never too far in something to not learn about something else — never.
Which is why I’ll leave you with this last piece of advice, dear readers: If you’re looking for a sign to be courageous and try something new, whatever it is, this is it.
Sara Marino is a UF journalism senior. Her column appears on Wednesdays.
