Are Extracurricular Activities Time-wasting or You Need Them?

There is one thing I noticed that many undergraduates do not focus on here in Nigeria, and that is EXTRACURRICULARS. There are so many students shying away from it and I find it saddening. How can you not have one, two, or three extracurricular activities under your belt?

I find it weird that someone will spend four years or more in an institution to bag a degree but all they can talk about is their time studying. All they have to say is just about their discipline. No extras, no jara, nothing special. Just you with your second-class upper or first class. The common stereotype is that only dull students have time for extracurricular activities and I just laugh at such clownish statement. Only if you know what you are missing out on. 

Only the dull ones have time to participate in school politics, public speaking, sports, literary events & societies, leadership & self-development, social events, networking, volunteering & interning, yet it is people with this stuff that are getting everything you think only you deserve. I find it very limiting if as an individual, all you can talk about is just your course. Like how can you not have basic knowledge of something else that is not what your certificate is telling me you have?

The fear of most undergraduates is they believe that the moment they start to do something else apart from their academics, their performance in class would drop. But don’t we all dread deceleration? No one wants to be topping the charts and then drop like, gravity is pulling their grades. They believe no one can like their books and still have the time to develop interests or pursue such interests without it sinking their academic stability. This notion is very wrong and mostly incorrect. Speakers in almost all the events I have attended in the university always at one point or the other give subtle hints on how participating in extracurricular activities helped them become successful.

No one is telling you to waste your time. Apart from reading your books and trying to finish each semester’s coursework, try to find time to do one or two more activities that will boost your resume. Join a reputable club in your school. Join an important association that will leave an impression on your CV – you will definitely graduate better than you would if you had not joined.

The truth is that, apart from gaining new experiences from extracurricular, you also get better at time management, multi-tasking, and improving your social skills. You network with people of like minds; you get better at developing ideas and opinions. You learn how to speak in public without developing cold feet. You shine because people know that you are good.

If you are interested in leadership & self development, then you should join an association or club. Contest for an elective position so you learn how to manage people, how to make tough decisions, how to organize things, and coordinate programs. The university is not just there for you to earn a degree, it is also a starting platform for you to work on your dreams. Do not limit yourself if no one is trying to limit you. 

Put it into your to-do list now. Think of all the extracurricular that interest you, pick out the ones that can booster your dreams and future goals then, highlight the ones that will not affect your academics. Choose the ones that you can be proud of saying in public. Do them with all your heart. Remember, the experiences and the knowledge you will gather from doing them will be with you until eternity!

© Ololade Edun.

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Ololade Edun is a contemporary Nigerian Creative, Microbiologist, and a medical student. His pieces are experimental and they dissect societal themes.

Ololade is an editor for AWS, TVO TRIBE, and a podcaster for The GhostPen Project. When he is not writing, Ololade is reading or drowning in Indian/Pakistani playback songs. Say hi on Twitter @OloladeWrites or Facebook @Ololade Edun