One of the biggest regrets any college student has after their college career is not getting involved their freshman year. A majority of freshmen will normally utilize the excuse that they are too busy, or there is nothing to do on campus. Both of those statements will, more than likely, be false.

Especially at Colorado Mesa University.

CMU is a growing and a thriving campus and at the root you’ll find an involved student body. With about 11,044 students and around 2,000 of them living on campus, it would almost be impossible to go an entire four years without finding a club or activity a student wouldn’t want to get involved in.

The thing is, the first year at a university is the time you should want to expand your horizons and step out of your comfort zone. Even more than before.

Personally, freshman year was naturally tough. I feel as if any freshman can say the same thing no matter what kind of year they had. College was a tough transition–not knowing anybody, being away from family and having to start my own life was significantly challenging. The biggest way to fight the harshness of the culture shock was to get involved.

I knew my major was going to be a pathway to making new relationships, therefore, right away I started to attend club meetings and introducing myself to people in order to get acclimated.

The first year of my college career would have been twice as hard if I did not get involved in the CMU community. It was still a struggle, but life was just a little bit easier having people and places to go to where I felt welcomed and appreciated.

Again, the biggest mistake you can make as a new college student is not utilizing your time at school and making the best out of it.  

Fight the temptation to stay in your dorm room and bury yourself in Netflix binges with zero socialization. You can’t make excuses to wait to make friends or wait for people to knock on the door. Initiate the conversation, surround yourself with positive people and start to set a foundation for the next four years of your life.

Don’t know where to start? Utilize campus resources such as the Student Life office or Orgsync to ask around about CMU clubs or look online to see which clubs or organizations best fit your interests.

In the dorms, there are also resident assistants who are trained to answer resident’s questions about the school and also point them in the right direction if they are unsure about how to get involved at CMU.

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The University tries to connect with their freshmen so that you want return for your sophomore year. The University offers opportunities for all students to find those clubs they might be drawn towards along with the chances to find their niche.

CMU also offers club fairs throughout the year where you can talk to a variety of different clubs all in the same place and get an idea of who and what is on campus. In between fairs, the majority of campus organizations promote their meetings through posters or flyers throughout campus.

Always be on the lookout for ways to get involved. It is never impossible to find something that suits you whether it be in the form of a hobby or an interest. College is the time to enjoy life and make it your own; not the time to be secluded.