Last Thursday, my (new) friend Sarita and I went to the Latina Heritage club. At first I didn’t know what club I wanted to join for two reasons. The first reason why was because I was nervous about finding a group of people I could blend in with. When it came to clubs I couldn’t shake the thought of how awkward it would be if I walked into any random club that I had no direct connection to. It’s that same feeling you get when you walk into a new school, full of kids that you do not know, or when you find yourself in a new country where they speak a foreign language (this ,although, is an exaggeration). In high school, I was always very outgoing and was friends with all the people in my grade, so joining a club was never intimidating. Regardless of the club I joined, I knew that I had some friends in it. College is completely different. You have to put yourself out there and create relationships with new people. Secondly I wanted to choose the right club to go to. Coming into Baruch I didn’t really know what my interests and hobbies were. Growing up I never really had any unique talents or hobbies but that is something I wanted to change when I came to college. I think that college is the time for a person to find out what they really like and what really interests them.
Going to the Latina Heritage club wasn’t a planned decision. I was following my daily Thursday routine and when I went up to the second floor, I saw a big group of people and heard loud music. I figured I might as well have stopped by to see what was going on and it seemed pretty cool. I peaked my head in and they seemed to be having a ton of fun. They were listening to music that sounded like modern hip-hip, my favorite genre, but I became even more intrigued because when I could hear the lyrics were in spanish. After walking in I noticed myself enjoying the atmosphere and presence of people I had just joined. The fact that the music was in a different language made it even more fun to listen too, and I found it much easier to loosen up to and dance to like everyone was already doing. I admittedly didn’t stay for a long time but for the time I did I had a great time.
Like I stated earlier I didn’t want to walk into a club and feel obligated to continue through with showing up to the club, and I stand by that statement. I can’t say that I will ever return but I am surely glad that I joined for the day. It was a good experience in doing things outside of my comfort zone, and who is to say that I wont try it again one day. This was overall a great experience!