Staying sane while all the other frosh misplace their marbles

After signing lots of sheets, receiving many desperate phone calls from strangers, scooping up free food at many more information sessions, and maybe even hitting (or missing) a few auditions, you—the average, active freshman—have toyed, teased, and tossed around many a great extracurricular organization. Unfortunately, shopping period follows Camp Yale ever so harshly. Along comes the Fall Supplement, and there you go to discover the things your parents really sent you here to do (namely, 375-page-a-week reading assignments, 25-page long papers, labs boring enough to make you want to offer yourself as Specimen A). As they fall in your lap one by one, complete with long syllabi, the realization will set in: you can't do everything. Between taking enough classes to make your Dean happy and having enough of a social life to keep yourself out of Psycholand, you have only so much time for extracurriculars. No matter how great an actor, writer, or foam swordsman you may be, there are limits you cannot go beyond without losing sleep and/or sanity. With all the great things you can do at Yale, picking and choosing is never easy. To ease the process, here are a few questions to ask yourself.

What do I love to do?

Perhaps this may seem like an obvious and easy question, but considering the route of extracurriculars-solely-for-the-purpose-of-résumé-building that many a student has taken to rack up a good high school profile, it is definitely an issue worth considering. You may still need to pretty up your working papers while in college, but with the massively expanded range of (highly-decorative) choices, why not do what you truly love to do? Without the constraints of high school's more limited options, everything from tabloid writing to hip-hop dancing is now available to you, and the chance to expand your talents or to discover ones you never thought you had is too good to waste while you think of what will look good on paper. If it isn't fun, don't continue in it, no matter how much you did it in high school. If it sounds fun, then just try it; after all, you may never have another chance. To our knowledge, there are no improv comedy troupes in grad school.

Am I good enough?

This question may apply more to those who want to be actors than to any others, since they are least likely to escape being left out of their chosen activity at first—though it is worth noting that groups such as the Debate and Mock Trial Societies also hold try-outs, and even publications are somewhat competitive and selective about giving articles to writers. The truth is that Yale is a place with a lot of talented people in almost all fields. Thus, though Yalies do not aspire to a ridiculous level of competition, it is more difficult to get into plays and several other activities than it was in high school, if only because you are no longer the most talented of the bunch. The only thing you can do is be persistent and confident in whatever you try. As hard as it can be to take rejection—and everyone has to deal with it at some point—the only wrong way to deal with it is to accept it as the final word. Auditioning, regardless of what you are auditioning for, is a skill to develop as well, and the only way to really fail is not to try at all.

What do I need to do now?

Some things just will not wait. Whatever you decide to do with your first semester—and there are so many things to do—don't forget that there are opportunities that come along only once. Help out in the community, work on a campaign, take time to enjoy a day in the park with a bunch of New Haven kids, or lend your support to a rally for a good cause. Do focus on your strengths, but don't narrow yourself so much that you forget what's really important.

If I miss the Bazaar, can I still get involved?

The answer to this question is yes. Though the rush of the Freshman Bazaar does not repeat itself, in no way is your window of opportunity slammed shut if you fail to sign every single sign-up sheet and attend every information session (though you will have missed a great chance to get free food). Organizations always need people, whether or not they continue to search for them desperately, so don't be shy about contacting the members and leaders of groups you are interested in via e-mail or phone, or just attending open meetings. At the beginning of the spring semester, there will even be yet another recruiting drive, complete with fully-stocked info sessions. One way or another, the group you want to be in awaits you.

How much do I really have time to do?

The number of classes you are planning to take, and how you schedule them, weighs heavily on this decision. For example, if you are planning to take four classes your first semester, none starting a second before 11:30 a.m. (Note: the author of this piece actually did pull this off—plan carefully!), you have a lot more flexibility than someone taking five classes starting at 8 a.m. Monday to Friday. Yale's 36-credit requirement means that five-credit semesters are coming for you eventually, and this means that as much as you might want to edit a publication, get involved in the Yale Political Union and play a starring role in a drama all at once, you will not be able to—most of the time. Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize. Try just a few activities your first semester to avoid early burn-out. You will still be able to handle your friends and your classes at the same time. Remember, as many things as you may want to do your first semester, there will still be another three and a half years in which to do them.

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