When I first started to college, I wondered what things were in Martin that I could get involved with.

I was bombarded with the Pikes, the K.A.s, the Sig Eps, the ABCs, DEFs, and so forth but knew that wasn’t for me. Something about structured friendships and paying dues to maintain them sort of bothered me.

Yes, there is more to them (before anyone starts rushing for the Hate Mail Keyboard) but I just didn’t see myself an active fraternity guy so I looked elsewhere.

In my journey for something to fill my time, I was thrilled to find great people and staff and helpful skill building in the theatre department. The theatre has helped me build people skills and given me a bit of the self-confidence that sometimes slips away with moving out into the “real world.”

On Thursday nights in the Writing Center of the Humanities building, I found a group of talented poets and writers that bring together unique voices and creative minds in many ways. Being an artist, and writer, I found that this group was a nice fit for my schedule.

In my time here, I’ve been a member of several different organizations that have bridged the gap between my fellow students and myself. I’ve been co-president of ALLIES, been an active member of Alpha Psi Omega, president of Sigma Tau Delta, helped on BeanSwitch and many other fantastic things. In addition to my time in Vanguard, I’ve even taught my own acting class!

It’s funny to me to hear people say, “There’s nothing to do on campus,” when there are so many things that are open for involvement.

In addition to the fraternity life, there are academic groups, art groups, an Anime club, and several other groups that just get together to order pizza, sit around and talk all night!

So, the next time you’re sitting around in your dorm room and all that’s on TV are re-runs of “Project Runway” and “America’s Next Top Model,” shut that mindless thing off and get out and involved on campus.

I’m sure that if you search hard enough, there is somewhere you can go to relieve boredom, and you can meet some fantastic people along the way!