The importance of extracurricular activities

The Importance of Extracurricular Activities

When the little voice in your head says that you will never be adapted to this new environment or make a change in your life, it means that you are trapped in your own mind. “What you give power has actually the power over you, if you allow it”. For instance, being a teenager can be very hard because you do not realize yet what and who you truly want to be in the future. This is why having the chance to get educated and especially participating in extracurricular activities can be considered as a rare opportunity to find your inner-self. Although participating in extracurricular activities seems strenuous for some people, it can also be very challenging noting that it boosts the student’s motivation, promotes social development and stimulates useful critical skills.

I remember having read somewhere that nothing worth having comes easy. Going to college, living alone and being completely independent was one of the important and craziest decision that I have ever made. Attending the first club meetings was arduous for me since I did not know the other members and the truth is that I have big problems when it comes to communicating with people. In addition, to keep my motivation up I decided to be a member of few clubs in my university. I have a very clear memory of my first meeting with LEO; it was very late at night, I was not used to staying outside until 10pm, but I was very excited to the idea of being engaged in this particular club. Once I entered the room, my heart rate began to increase and my hands were trembling slightly. I started scanning around looking for a place to sit. Once I took a deep and calming breath , I flicked my hair out of my face as I usually do and plastered a smile while saying hello to the person next to me who will be very soon become my closest friend .Above all , being introvert has been and still have an important impact on my social life. Actually, I grew up accepting the idea of being a reserved girl as a part of me. I can tell that this little weakness of mine had affect me in so many ways , I didn’t have

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too many friends , I almost never participate or speak my mind in class, and most importantly it causes me a lot of anxiety and stress while speaking to strangers because I was afraid of their reactions. The constant fear of being rejected by other members was always haunting me. The decision of participating in those extracurricular activities was a big push to overcome of my fears. Moreover, I admit that my first semester as a freshman had put me in a lot of pressure since I was not completely able to manage adequately my time. I felt confused and lost because I did not know how to achieve good academic performances and still respect my engagement to the clubs. To sum up, eextracurricular activities were very hard to handle because the demons in my head were always following me everywhere and every time I wanted to take a new step forward in my life

Yet, extracurricular activities are supposed to boost motivation. I consider those activities as an escape of my own enemy, which is my shyness. While attending to the club meetings and helping them organizing events in college, I felt like I was home and those people who were once strangers are now my family. I will always keep in mind the day where I was sitting alone in the restaurant waiting for our meeting. I felt like a part of me was missing, as if something is suffocating me. I simply needed a shoulder that I could rely on because I was feeling homesick. I almost started crying when a member of the club came to me and started saying random jokes about himself. I felt like I could trust that person so I told him every little detail about my day. I will never forget the moment when he hold me in his arms and whispered in my ears : “ Listen , you are a good person , you are worth it and failure will never undertake you while you are determine to succeed .”. Eligibility was my source of motivation to give my best academically .Similarly, I realized that being committed to this kind of activities was a rave to my self-esteem. Actually, I started yoga with a little group of girls and I can assure that it did transform my inner self. It helped develop coordination and motor control and the most important is that I found peace with myself. As a result, feeling those intrinsic feelings such as satisfaction, fun, as well as honor were one of the best achievement that allowed me to be confident and proud of who I am. After all, I see university as a transformative experience through which i can prepare myself to future challenges and experiences.

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Even though participating in outdoor activities might seem extremely distressing at the beginning, it also gives the opportunity to become a better social interactor . In fact , developing social skills is about « being aware of how we communicate with others, the ideas and the knowledge and how methods of communication can be improved to make our social interaction more efficient and effective ». In fact , « Through extracurricular activities, some of the most introverted students who avoid social interactions can find their identity and become more sociable. They can even become campus leaders. Moreover, some of these students may be inclined to explore new clubs and activities that are recommended by other students with whom they have developed new friendships. This can expose them to new ideas and functions that they would not have participated in before” (Jr) . For instance, students will be able to plan and arrange plans with their peers , they will mostly make errors and will struggle to find correct and real responses to real problems . They will face different situations where they have to keep their sense of control. Plus , identifying with people and having to work with different individuals with diferent cultures and teams will naturally develop one's communication skills. In this case , « Positive social reinforcement and repeated practice are commonly used strategies to encourage persons to participate in the training and to strengthen their appropriate behaviors” (Hector W. H. Tsang). On the other hand , According to a University of Illinois professor who studies the sociology of education, high school sophomores who were considered as being a good and active students in many diferent extracurricular activities can made more money and complete higher levels of education going up to 10 years later than their classmates who had also similar test scores but were socially engaged in fewer extracurricular activities (Barnett). In summary , Social skills are “goal directed” (Matjasko) since they encourage the individual to achieve social reinforcement as well as his own personal development.

Furthermore, extracurricular activities encourage the development of critical life-skills. In fact, students will learn to have a sense of organizing and prioritizing his time. Actually, they should get rid of the vicious cycle of procrastination. Since, they will certainly have busy days, they are encouraged to learn organizational skills from having to wisely budget their time. For instance using calendars is an excellent way to manage time by writing down practice schedules, due dates and study group as well as club meetings. Moreover, the student will mostly develop a sense of self- discipline and concentration. In fact ,participating in those activities are like a real world simulations since they can extend your past learned academic such as enriching writing , reading and speaking competences and give you the chance to discover your hidden talents as well as your interests. Besides, it appears that the occupation in extracurricular activities have no primary connection to the average or poor academic performance (Barnett). According to (Mehus), “the students who are the most active in campus activities are the students who tend to receive the highest grades in academic subjects while those who participate in campus activity tend to receive the lowest grades. «In addition, students who participate in those activities have a higher to chance to learn important lessons such as analytical thinking .For example debate builds students' public speaking abilities as well as their research skills, critical thinking and much more. To sum up , “When properly developed, validated , managed and monitored , these activities can greatly enhance the learning experience of students by adding a new and practical dimension to the classroom and text book instruction they receive in their school curriculum.” (Angelia)

In conclusion, while being engaged in extracurricular activities, students will gain unmeasurable and valuable accomplishment in their social affiliations, develop special abilities, and mostly discovering their inner self. Thus, it is important to remember that what we are looking for is not out there, but it is in us.

Bibliographie

Angelia, Mance. «School Enrichment Activities. .» School Enrichment Activities -- Research Starters Education. p1-1. 11p. ( 3/1/2016): p1-1. 11p. .

Barnett, Lynn, and John Weber. ". «"Perceived Benefits to Children from Participating in Different Types of Recreational Activities.» Journal of park and recreation administration (s.d.): Vol. 26 Issue 3, P1-20. 20p.

Jr, Dr Thomas Gamboa. «TEACH.» MARCH 2015. Key benefits of extracurricular activities in developing students’ social skills. 7 FEBRUARY 2016.

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Matjasko, Amy F. Feldman and Jennifer L. «The Role of School-Based Extracurricular Activities in Adolescent Development: A Comprehensive Review and Future Directions.» review of Educational Research (summer,2015): vol. 75, No. 2 , pp. 159- 210 .

Mehus, O. Myking. «Extracurricular Activities and Academic Achievement .» The Journal of Educational Sociology ( No. 3 (Nov., 1932)): Vol.6, pp. 143-149 .

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