Something New I Think You Should Try

Hala Jaber

Staff Writer

The school year starts. You are a first year, walking the halls of your new campus; this place is alive, and it surrounds you.

It breathes and echoes in its footsteps, conversation spilling forward from open doors. The same cars park in the same spots. Hangouts happen in designated “hangout” rooms, everyone meets up there, it’s an unspoken routine, simply happening.

Passing period fills the corridors like a glass of water being tipped just slightly—steady, then sudden—faces merging together, groups forming habitually as if rehearsed.

It’s a happy scene, resonating with belonging, and purpose found. Over in the distance, somewhere, someone laughs like they’ve always belonged.

With the middle of the first semester halfway through, it may seem like everyone knows where they’re going, like they’ve already found their people, their rhythm, their purpose.

It can feel like you’re watching a movie that’s already halfway through, and you’re not quite so sure what role you’re supposed to play.

It feels almost like a puzzle, doesn’t it? Everyone you pass by is a piece that seems to have clicked into place, and now you’re here, a part of that puzzle, trying to find your place, too.

Rest be assured that those who’ve “clicked” didn’t start out that way. They also wandered these halls for the first time, unsure and unseen. Watching, waiting, finding their space.

So, what did they do? They said yes.

Every time you say yes, you give yourself a chance to discover something new—not just about campus, but about yourself.

I speak from experience when I say that your ‘yes’ might lead you to your future major, your first leadership role, or to the people who become your chosen family. I, like in the scenario previously mentioned, was much like the first year student: unsure, but wanting to find my place.

Though I was quiet and the kind of person who liked to stick to what I knew, I knew that trying new things was the first step to success and finding out who I was. It started with small things: Saying “yes” to joining new clubs. Saying “yes” to participating in programs like SOPHIA and ASPIRE. Saying “yes” to speaking on panels and serving as a student voice in rooms I never imagined I’d be in. Slowly, those “yesses” became doors; I discovered opportunities I didn’t even know existed.

Just one “yes” led to countless opportunities; I found the courage to speak up, to lead, and to raise my hand when it mattered.

So now, I will pass this to you. You, walking these halls, wondering where your place is.

Let this be your reminder: you belong here. Even if it doesn’t feel like it yet. Say yes to the invite, to the idea, to the thing that scares you just a little. Say yes and watch what unfolds. Because somewhere in that ‘yes’ is your next beginning.