TGIF: Non-Athletic School Clubs

Happy Friday everyone! Today I wanted to talk to you about something that's been on my mind a lot lately. As it's something I've been thinking about quite a bit, I decided to talk to you guys about it!

 So, Kristy, what's on your mind this fine Friday, you ask? WELL, here's the thing. I'm not an athletic person. Sure I like going on walks and the occasional run, as well as stuff like hiking and bike rides, but when it comes to team sports like soccer or basketball, the extent of my experience in that is gym class. I much prefer curling up with a good book (obvs), trying to write something new (if my brain decides to cooperate with me), or learning about weird facts and stuff that I might never use in my life but is still cool to know. I'm an academic person. Trouble is, I go to the big football school in my city. We're a sports school. The girl's basketball team won the championships this year, the football teams are ranked high in the province, etc. Almost everyday at lunch there's some sort of intramural sport going on in the gym, announcements for different sport accomplishments, events coming up, etc. So, why do you go here if it's not your catchment school, Kristy? Well, I go because it's also the only French Immersion school in the city. Don't get me wrong, I adore my school. We have a Character Council, which is this big leadership program all about respect and teamwork and a bunch of other words that are our motto and my school always feels like a big community. A family, even, sometimes.

But my problem is, I don't have any extracurriculars anymore. And that's SCARING ME. I mean, I'm a part of Character Council, as well as secretary of my school's Aboriginal Student Council, but other than leadership, I don't have any non-creditable clubs I belong to or activities I do. (Other than this blog, of course!) I do art and yearbook after school during the week, but they're both courses I still get grades for. What I want is a CLUB. Like, an astronomy club! Or a gardening club! I think we're trying to get a newspaper going, but I haven't heard anything about it since the first meeting. I wish my school had more stuff like this, because there are so many amazing clubs we could have that people would enjoy, in my opinion. It would help students who aren't very athletic dress up their applications to unis and get them out of the house. But of course, the key issues: Money and time. All clubs require funding and of course, planning. We'd probably need a teacher sponsor for something like this, as well as the obvious thing: Members. Advertising takes time and effort and in my school, you have to go big to get the word out, as there are a LOT of kids.

My English teacher last semester encouraged our class to speak up when we feel the need to have our thoughts heard, even if it's intimidating or to someone with greater authority. I'd like to go to him first and ask him about this, as he also mentioned it at one time, and see what he has to say. If you're in school still, do you have the same issue, or does your school offer non-athletic clubs and activities to do after school or at lunch?? If you're not at school, what are your thoughts on this? Am I justified in saying that I believe there needs to be more than just a big focus on sports?

I understand that if I bring this up to the teachers and superiors at my school, it's going to take a lot of time and commitment from me. But I'm prepared for this. I already have been brainstorming fundraising ideas, and yet I haven't even talked about this to anyone... Except you guys! But this is an issue that has been bothering me a lot lately, and I think it's one that a lot of kids can understand as well. Not everyone is an athletic kid. And not everyone has the opportunity to join clubs and activities in the community. Sometimes it's the money, other times it's the timing. All I know is that I want to learn more and experience more and meet more people. What better way to do that than join a club?

Happy Friday!
~Kristy