Try Everything
The try, try again philosophy helped me find my path in life — and in college
A Libra strives for symmetry in life — and in every single choice.
That’s me. A classic Libra.
Choices are everywhere. I try to balance decisions about work, school, friends or just picking a frozen yogurt flavor. It’s hard when there are so many options.
I just want to try everything.
But I’ve discovered that try, trying again can work out for your benefit.
Try every sport and club
In elementary school, I did every sport provided by the school: Volleyball, basketball, soccer, track and field. I even played football with the boys.
I didn’t want to stick with one sport. I just wanted to do them all. Eventually, this led me to join the volleyball team in high school. After freshman year I gave up on volleyball, but I found my two best friends from it.
I moved onto other things. I found myself doing rowing, Key Club, environmental club, and yoga club. If I found the slightest interest then I should try it. I loved every experience with these clubs.
Why just choose one if I can do more than one?
Then came senior year. My high school is known for its annual International Days, aka I-Days. This is when all the cultural clubs spend most of the school year choreographing a dance to perform for three days.
We were known for having over 30 cultural clubs and it being the biggest event of the school year. I’ve always wanted to be in a club but never got into the ones I auditioned for.
Then one day I had a friend, who was president of the Chinese Club, come to class with fans used for their dance. It turned out that they still needed one more person for their performance. I decided to try it and made it in. Chinese Club became a huge part of my senior year and I loved it. It was an experience like no other and they became my second family.
Another part of senior year was Decision Day — where you attend college. You can probably imagine how hard this must’ve been due to my indecisiveness.
I waited until April 30th to make up my mind — the last possible moment.
It wouldn’t be my last decision.
Try every… college?
My first year of college was spent at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN.
I ended up joining Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed fraternity that focused on service. I really enjoyed it, but after a semester I found that Butler wasn't the school for me. I started to look into transferring.
Over winter break, I attended my high school Chinese class annual reunion. I ended up sitting next to a friend, Sofia. We talked a little bit and she started to tell me about her first semester at Marquette University.
I could tell by the way she talked about Marquette that she loved it. Hearing about her talk about Marquette sparked my interest. I decided to visit.
It was gloomy and cold the day I came to visit campus. But right away I felt that it was for me. I could really imagine myself being on the campus and I felt welcomed.
Sofia was my tour guide and showed me around. Everything just fit my criteria: Campus size, my digital media major, being part of a larger city, etc. Things on my list were being checked off as she showed me more. Everyone was super friendly and the atmosphere of the campus felt right.
Next thing I knew, I was accepted into Marquette as a transfer student. Moving onto sophomore year, everything was terrifying and it felt like I was a freshman again. New school, new environment, new city.
Then I had a flashback to elementary school, where I wanted to try every club and sport. O-Fest, when students have the opportunity to learn about hundreds of campus clubs and organizations, was a banner day for indulging my interests. I visited every table and signed up for over 15 clubs.
I came across Alpha Phi Omega, they were just starting a chapter at Marquette — what a coincidence. Since then, I’ve become a founding member of the chapter and will be on E-Board for Fall 2019.
I also came across Bayanihan Student Organization (BSO), a cultural club that spreads awareness about Filipino culture. I passed their booth a few times deciding if I wanted to sign up. Then again, I thought, why not?
I showed up to the first meeting alone, something I thought I’d never do. But something inside me pushed me to just try. Immediately from the first meeting, I could tell this was a family.
When I walked into the meeting, everyone was talking, hugging and laughing. I’ve been to meetings where people just sit and wait for things to start. This was different. People noticed I was new and would try to get to know me. As a shy person, I really appreciated that.
At my third meeting for BSO they had something they called a family draft, which basically was splitting people into four big family groups.
As we got placed in our groups, a girl in my family came up to me asking if I was a sophomore. This then led her to asking me if I had a place to live for next year and if I wanted to room with her and three other girls. I was surprised and overwhelmed. I haven’t been on campus for a month yet and a random girl had asked me to move in together. I signed a lease a week later.
We’ve been living together for a year and will be for another year until graduation. I can’t imagine where and who I’d be living with if I didn’t try one BSO meeting.
Try every internship
I never really was a basketball fan — until I came here. School spirit was a big element when choosing a school and I could tell Marquette had that. Going to basketball games definitely confirmed that.
Sophomore year I went to almost every game and they became some of my favorite memories.
Then I found out that Marquette Athletics was hiring a Digital Media Intern. My love for the basketball team and the other Marquette sports pushed me to try and get this position.
I didn’t have major knowledge of the sports world. By now you sense a theme: Why not give it a try?
I ended up getting the position and I truly enjoyed it. I attended soccer, volleyball, basketball and other games to capture moments. Seeing behind the scenes made me appreciate sports more after seeing all the work put into it.
But I still wasn’t done. A month into junior year, I heard of an opportunity at the 707 Hub for a social media internship.
Why not explore more?
The 707 Hub is a social innovation and entrepreneurship space for students on campus. I had no experience with social innovation or entrepreneurship but I thought I’d try it and if I don’t get it, then I don’t get it.
I got the position. I managed all the social media platforms and created graphics and flyers. It opened me up to amazing projects students are working on and resources on campus that not many people know about. I will continue to work at the 707 Hub for the upcoming year, so come visit me!
Thinking back to all of my greatest experiences, they were all because I decided to try it once. Being a Libra made me want to try every possible and I’m glad I did. Best of all, it led me to Marquette which has become my home away from home.
You can’t try everything in the world, but if something piques your interest even a little — try it. You never know what it may bring or who you’ll meet.
Life has its ways of bringing things together, but it’s up to you to try.
