Make a Difference Through Extracurriculars

It can be hard for kids to make friends and engage during class. Classrooms and curriculums aren’t designed to foster friendships and a sense of community, they’re designed to facilitate learning. Which is fine, but it can be hard for a lot of kids to reach out during class times. Difficult assignments, uncomfortable seating arrangements, and long lectures are all factors contributing to this. So it can be really beneficial for students to have other avenues to explore social interactions. That’s one of the reasons extracurriculars can be so advantageous for kids. They give them a space to interact with others in a less rigid environment. 

Another benefit of extracurriculars is the exercise they can provide. While I was in high school, I ran cross-country and track almost every day, and ever since graduating, I haven’t maintained that schedule because I don’t have an activity to hold me to that consistent schedule. I still exercise, but because I don’t have a commitment, it’s harder for me to motivate myself to stay with it. And it’s not like extracurricular sports are designed to work people too hard- they’re designed to provide a daily recommended amount of physical activity for the day. I feel like it’s easier for a human body to get in the right headspace for exercising if they have a set consistent time that they do it for, as opposed to sporadically throughout the week. 

Finally, extracurriculars allow students to expand their horizons and explore potential new interests. A friend could bring you to a club meeting where you discover a newfound, eventually life-long love for something. In my opinion it’s easier to find a new avenue for expressing yourself at spaces designed for celebrating and promoting them. You might not think you’ll enjoy something at first, but in a club designed to encourage people to just give it a try, you never know-what you find could surprise you. 

Class time and learning are important. But people are in school basically the entire time their brains are developing, so it’s also incredibly important that people -especially young people- experience things that enrich their lives in other ways while they have the opportunity to (oftentimes through extracurricular activities).