After spending the majority of first year crafting a mental list of the best places to go to on an Edi night out and scoping out the best seats in the library, second, third, and even fourth year may hit many of us with the need to join more societies, in order to achieve a more well-rounded and social university experience. Thus began my own search to reignite old passions and spark new ones. So, amidst a large group of Freshers, I attended a musical theatre workshop and discovered one of the things you must come to terms with when joining societies as a non-Fresher: most of the people you meet at taster events will be first years, and you must be ready to relive all those Freshers conversations you thought you had left behind. When it comes to taster events, you’re all in the same boat, new to the society, to the atmosphere, and to the group. So put on a friendly face and dig up those Fresher’s ice breaker questions because these will be the people going on this journey with you; get to know them and make some friends, it’s going to make the experience so much easier.
My mission to try new things led me to a dance audition where I was leagues behind the rest of the group, believing, delusionally, that my two years of experience in musical theatre when I was eleven would be sufficient. It was not. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t slightly humiliating; amongst a group of trained, experienced dancers I stuck out like a sore thumb, if that thumb was clumsy and uncoordinated. But this led me to another realization: to try new things, especially when you’re no longer a first year, you must swallow your pride. Societies are all about trying out new experiences, and that seems normal and completely expected as a Fresher, but for whatever reason, we become more hesitant to do this the older we get. Despite being the worst in the room, I ended up enjoying this audition; it was something I only did because I admitted to myself that I probably wasn’t going to be any good-and isn’t that what trying new things is all about? You may not be amazing your first go, but it’s never too late to try.
My experience might sound discouraging, but I don’t want it to be. Though my brief time on the stage may be over, I have opened myself up to other new possibilities that I might have never considered. So even if you try something new and it doesn’t work out, that could lead you to something else that is just as exciting. I’ll reiterate it one last time: do not be afraid to try new things, because it is not over after first year, it is only the beginning.
Image by Rayna Carruthers.
