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Try everything. What a versatile phrase. It’s the name of Shakira’s song in Zootopia that I heard a thousand times too many when we were forced to choreograph a dance to it in Year 9 PE. It was the advice of practically everyone I knew when I said I was starting university. And it’s definitely the advice I would pass on to you — with one key caveat to ‘try’ and not ‘commit to’ everything!

It’s no new news that university is the best chance in life to try something different: freed from the bars of the 9-4 school timetable and for now, from those of the 9–5 job, these 3 or 4 years are the best opportunity to get involved with hobbies you wouldn’t otherwise get a chance to try. Whether this be in the form of societies, sports clubs, nightlife, volunteering, or anything else that takes your fancy, there’s nothing stopping you!

But having the time is certainly not the sole reason why you should experiment with extracurriculars at university: the best part is that you get the chance to meet lots of different people and try new and fun experiences! For example, one of my favourite societies that I’ve joined has been Gaana Dance. Before coming to university, I knew that I wanted to try a dance club and so I attended a variety of tasters, from Salsa to Contemporary to Lyrical, however Gaana was the one I stuck with. I loved the upbeat style of dance, the choreography that’s accessible to all even if you’ve had no experience (like myself), and the friendly and relaxed vibes in general. I’ve also enjoyed taking part in some of the French and Spanish Societies events this year: the pizza and movie nights have been really enjoyable!

Another reason why it’s so important to try everything is because you’re not going to like all of it. With regards to hobbies it’s perfectly fine to try as many things as you want and then completely abandon them! Personally, I’ve done this for quite a few things: such as an ice-skating taster where I found myself quite literally stuck between a rock (if ice is a type of rock?) and a hard place, alternating between the fear of taking my hands off the rail, and the fear of leaving them on and getting hypothermia because the rail was So. Unbelievably. Cold. I’m still glad I tried it out though, because there was no harm done (apart from the creation of a video of me frozen like Bambi on ice cheekily taken by my friend), and I got a good laugh out of it!

However, the most important thing is to find the balance between what you want to take part in, and what you can actually commit to. So while I wholeheartedly recommend trying a variety of activities, during and beyond Freshers Week, don’t feel pressured into committing yourself to absolutely everything. And more importantly, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved as much as you want! I love attending the weekly Gaana Dance classes, but last term I didn’t sign up to take part in a big competition as I knew I’d struggle to go to rehearsals for a few hours every night. One of my friends loves musical theatre, but doesn’t have the time to commit to masses of rehearsals for some of the theatre productions. Nevertheless, she still goes to the weekly informal group ‘Ensemble’ and the socials!

So, overall, the best advice I can give is definitely get involved- but with whatever you want and however much you want to. It’s great to be really committed to one specific society, sports club, or event, but you don’t need to let this close you off to other activities. Even if you can’t commit to coming regularly, or even if you come once and never go back, everyone’s very friendly and no one’s going to mind you coming and having a go. Try everything!