While students across the world attend school, only a handful participate in extracurricular activities that are involved inside or outside school; ranging from sports to the arts. These activities allow teens to learn the values of teamwork, their own mental and physical strength, diversity, and community through the time and effort they put in.
Senior Cassandra Musquez has been in cheerleading for four years. Musquez spends five hours practicing per day, and 30 hours a week. She is currently a base for the cheer team, she joined the school cheerleading team because she had done the sport since she was little, so it had become part of her routine.
“It’s something I have fallen in love with and I like keeping up with it,” said Musquez.
Along with cheerleading, Musquez is also a part of the Associated Student Body (ASB); her position is ASB Secretary. By being involved in two extracurriculars Musquez has a busy schedule, spending extra hours after school and after practices, setting up or preparing for rallies, practices and competitions on the weekends. Musquez’s active participation in extracurriculars helped her learn how to manage her time and balance school and her activities.
“Do it… although I was kinda scared to join any clubs when I was a freshman, being involved in different activities helped let me meet new people and it led me to have so much fun and make incredible memories,” said Musquez.
Senior Steven Araujo, who is one of the techies in ASB, spends time recording and editing videos for the school’s Instagram account. Araujo decided to join ASB because he was not a part of the other extracurriculars. He had experience in digital media and friends in ASB, which facilitated his entry in the class.
“Being in ASB has really helped my people skills. There’s no harm in joining, if you don’t like it, well you don’t like it, but at least you tried,” said Araujo.
Many people enjoy being in extracurricular activities because of the opportunities it provides. They are able to meet new people, develop skills they will use after graduation, and extracurriculars can also look good on college applications.
While extracurriculars can be fun and a way to get out of your comfort zone, committing to them can be a challenge. Committing time and effort can be difficult for students because along with attending school, some students have sports practice or clubs they are a part of.
“Committing most of the time to my extracurriculars was hard at first because I was not only balancing the practices but school work. I had to put time away to study at late hours, but also be able to put my full effort in my sport. While it took me a while I don’t regret the commitment,” said Musquez.
The commitment can take a toll, but it can be a beneficial decision. Think of a hobby you like to spend a couple hours on, then develop a routine of participating in the hobby, or even finding people who have the similar interest. So then later this activity can become a extracurricular and help achieve greater productivity.
