Duringmyfreshmanyear,Idecidedto joinKeyClub.Ihadheardaboutit duringaclubfairin8th grade.Iwasinterestedinwhatthe clubwasabout,soIkeptitonmy interestslistforfreshmanyear.I wassoexcitedjoinclubsand experiencethestereotypicalhigh schoolexperience,eventhoughIfelt like Iwouldstrugglewithmakingfriends alongtheway. Fastforwardtothefirstmonthof school,itwasmyfirsttimesigningup tovolunteerforaneventand Iwasverynervous.Iwasslightly excitedtobevolunteeringforthefirst time,butmynervesoutweighed thatexcitement.IwasafraidthatI wouldbelostduringtheevent,orI wouldembarrassmyselfinsome way.Ithoughtofeverythingthat couldgowrong.Ithoughtabout textingoneoftheofficersaboutwhat Ishouldexpectfrommyfirsttime,but Iwastooscaredtoeventextthem.
Thequestionsinmymindjust keptbuildingupsoIfinallydecided tojusttextthem.Iaskedthemwhat Ishouldweartotheeventand whatIshouldexpect,becauseit wasobviouslymyfirst time volunteeringwithaclub.Theyhad respondedquickly.Theyhadsaid thattheyunderstood,anditwas completelynormaltofeelnervous. Thattexthadmademefeelabit calmer,Ifeltunderstood.Afterthat, theeventwentbetterthan expected,IfeltlikeIwasjustfearing nothing. Becauseofthatexperience,my viewonKeyClubchanged.After thatexperience,Isignedupfor moreeventsandduringsome events,mysocialskillsimproved.It becameeasierformetotalkto peopleandaskquestionswhenI neededhelp.Eventually,Iapplied tobefreshmanrepresentative becauseIwantedtobemore involvedwiththeclub.Althoughthe interviewwasquiteintimidating,I got theposition.Sincethen,I’vebeen extremelyactiveintheclub,andI evenmanagedtomakesome friends.IbelievethatKeyClub providestheirmemberswithmany opportunitiestoservetheir communitieswhilealsodeveloping socialskills.KeyClubhasallowed metogrowasapersonandgave mefunnewexperiencesthatI wouldn’thavedoneinlifewithout theseopportunities
