From the moment you enter high school, you are constantly told to “get involved,” and, yes, involvement will help you meet new people, develop a sense of achievement and enjoy your overall high school experience. However, somewhere in the timeline of your teenage years, being involved translates into joining an overwhelming amount of extracurricular activities you may not even care about in order to stand out on college applications.

Think about it for a minute. How many clubs do you participate in that you truthfully like? Which ones did you join without thinking “this will look good on an application?” Chances are, if you’re anything like me, there  aren’t that many clubs you partake in out of pure enjoyment.

In all honesty, I’ve had a lot of fun participating in clubs I thought I was joining solely for college application purposes. However, there are few clubs I can say I genuinely feel passionate about.

This concept is applicable to sports as well. I know many people who continue to play a sport in high school, even when the passion is no longer there. Maybe it’s because they’ve been playing for so long, they’re good at it or they feel pressured from family and peers to continue competing.

In reality, your time in high school is very short, and it is your time, not anyone else’s. Why waste it doing activities you find unenjoyable?

Instead of stressing myself out with attending several meetings and meeting certain club requirements, I wish I would’ve focused my time on one or two clubs that truly sparked my interest.

Luckily, as a junior, I still have my senior year to involve myself in activities I am passionate about, and I plan to do just that.

My advice is to find something that makes you happy – one where you’re actually excited to go to meetings and eager to take part in.

If you aren’t enjoying what you’re doing, then it seems like a waste of time running from club meeting to club meeting just to impress college admission officers.

Your high school is so much more than just preparing for college, just as there is so much more to life than your college and career choices.

Don’t get me wrong, your education does affect your future, but I believe pursuing your passions and happiness is far more valuable than being accepted into a prestigious college.

Try different things, find what you enjoy and commit yourself to that. To impress others, it is not necessary to overwhelm yourself by joining multiple clubs when you can be equally as remarkable by dedicating your time to something you are enthusiastic about.

In the end, if you have found something your passionate about and a college doesn’t accept you because you lack an extended list of activities, they are missing out on someone who knows what is important in life – enjoying it.