When I first set foot on campus, I collected club brochures like pastry selections at a lavish breakfast buffet—I wanted a little bit of everything. After the social appetizers and academic entrees, there was always room for a slice of volunteering, a bite of the pre-professional pie, and a sweet taste of dance.
I thrust myself into filling out over a dozen RSO applications, concocting quirky hot takes, and lining up for interviews at Pret. I approached joining clubs like a checklist: X for the pre-professional development, Y for the community, and Z for the stepping out of my comfort zone. I wanted to be part of clubs that promised prestige and network; a UChicago bubble within the UChicago bubble.
As a sophomore transfer, my haste and intentionality may have been rooted in a need to find familiarity. I yearned for communities that mirrored my previous engagements and believed that the most selective clubs would bring the most meaningful experiences. I believed that to be how I would make the most of student life at UChicago, and I couldn’t be more wrong.
While my commitment to different RSOs has waxed and waned as my interests and priorities have shifted over the last two years, the truth is that you only get as much out of one as you put into it. I have interviewed freshmen for these clubs who, much like my younger self, often seem more eager to recount their high school feats than to truly engage with the club’s mission. Maybe if I’d left my high school self in high school, I would see more clearly how little I know and how much I have to learn.
I now look back on my RSOs with a fondness for the people I have learned from and worked with—those who have inspired me to invest not just my time and effort, but also genuine enthusiasm and intention. The true value of RSOs, for me, hasn’t been in the doors they have opened for life beyond college, but in the opportunities they have provided for self-reflection and friendship. As you begin your journey at UChicago, I hope the same for you, and even more. I hope that you can savor, equally, the moments that cultivate self-awareness and relationships that challenge or comfort you, just as you will savor the midnight grind of an RSO application in your Twin XL bed.
As a senior who is both resigned and eager to savor what’s left (and old enough for a different kind of clubbing), my advice to you is this: Don’t forget to make the most of yourself while you try to make the most of your time at UChicago; and most importantly, try not to try too hard!
Anushka Bansal is a fourth-year in the College.
