Photo courtesy of Igor Rodrigues on Unsplash

As a campus community, it’s time we stopped glorifying the chronically involved lifestyle and reveal it for what it is – a breeding ground for a harmful work-life balance later down the line.

At Hofstra, it’s common to find people who are involved with two, three and even four or more clubs. Meeting someone who only participates in one club feels like even more of a rarity – which seems like a great sign that a school has strong extracurriculars and a robust student body, right?

Wrong. Though Hofstra will probably try to brag about just how involved everyone is, Hofstra students’ near-obsessive relationship with adding clubs to their already packed schedules is one of the most toxic elements of life on campus.

For starters, it’s time to stop putting so much stock in the sheer number of things people participate in. Someone might choose one or two clubs to focus on, instead of dividing their time between five different time commitments.

Beyond that, suggesting to people that “you need to get involved in more things” discounts the dedication and passion it takes to stay involved in one or two clubs, and also assumes that everyone can function with more than a few things on their plate at the same time.

This isn’t to shame the people who are involved in a lot of clubs; some people function the best with full schedules and multiple things to dedicate themselves to at the same time. There’s an undeniable benefit to meeting diverse groups of people and stretching yourself into a variety of interests.

However, the multi-club lifestyle isn’t the easy solution to professional and personal development that some people seem to think it is.

Does it teach you to manage your time? Ideally, yes. Will it help you grow your skills in the areas you’re interested in? Also yes, hopefully.

While those things are beneficial, the non-stop Hofstra grind also neglects to consider what you can learn from learning to say “no” to adding things onto your plate. Instead of solely looking at our extracurriculars for their benefits, think about how a role might detract from your student experience.

Additionally, it’s important to also recognize that sometimes, agreeing to join another club or gain another responsibility in an organization isn’t always a decision that you make in your own best interest.

Whether you mean it to or not, sometimes you’re influenced by the people or situations around you.

To counter this problem, ask yourself: are you passionate about what you’re being asked to do, or are you passionate about the person that’s asking you to do it? What will you have to give up in order to make time for this new responsibility?

If you’re just saying yes because you feel obligated to, then consider re-evaluating your choice. What could you do to make this role something you care about? Or, if you’re invested in the position but don’t have the bandwidth to add it to your plate, is there another responsibility you can delegate or give up?

You do not have to feel like a person who needs to do everything and join everything just because it’ll look good on a resume or because you feel like other people are doing more. If anything, a club will mean more to you when you have the time to slow down and take the time to appreciate it. 

If you want to add more responsibility, that’s great! If you want to take a breather, that’s also great. Just make sure that whatever you do, you’re doing it because it matters to you. Don’t be afraid to take a step back and re-evaluate now and then.