<p>Hello everyone. I’m currently in 10th grade and getting good grades and high test scores is pretty easy for me. The problem is joining extracurriculars because I’m not very good in social situations. Last year I was able to join garden club, which I get volunteer hours for, and this year, with the help of a counselor, I was able to join the math club and the reader’s club! That’s good and I’m dedicated to these clubs but it’s highly unlikely I’ll get any sort of leadership position. So I’m trying to think of ways to turn my hobbies into good extracurriculars.</p>
<p>Most of the time when I don’t have homework I just sit on my laptop and surf the Internet. I also help take care of my autistic brother when my father isn’t home, but not enough that I could count that as a job or extracurricular. Here are some of the things I do for fun:</p>
<ul>
<li>I’m learning to code with codecademy.com, but I don’t know how that could be an EC.</li>
<li>I often get ideas in my head for stories I could write, I could potentially actually write one and enter it in a writing contest.</li>
<li>I really like math competitions like the AMC 10 so I’m trying to train for those and hopefully qualify for the AIME.</li>
<li>I also really like trivia, I wish there was a quiz bowl team or trivia club at my school and i’d definitely join, too bad I’m too shy to start one myself.</li>
</ul>
<p>Do these sound like good ideas? Do you have any other ideas? I know it’s hard to help me when you don’t know very much about me, so if you have any questions please ask!</p>
<p>You shouldn’t be trying to make these into conventional extra-curricular clubs. What you should be doing is developing these interests and then seeing where that takes you.</p>
<p>For example:
For coding learn how to do basics and then find others who also like to code. Talk about coding and show each other what you can do and what you’re working on and help each other out. Then when you get decent you can start doing competitions. After competing and getting really solid you should start getting into advanced topics like theory.</p>
<p>For the rest you basically just use the same template:
develop some basics
meet with other people who are also interested and talk with them about it
start challenging yourself by seeking out competition or new challenges
Delve into more advance aspects by attending classes, reading into theory behind your hobby, or getting an older mentor.</p>
<p>This will help you out in college admissions much more than being president of an empty club.</p>
<p>The first three hobbies should be pretty easy to springboard into and develop skills but trivia may just need to be something you do for fun with friends (might help you become more sociable), but you can also start an academic team at your school which is trivia for academic subjects.</p>
<p>With coding, you could start a programming club or team. Find out if there are any programming competitions in your region. If not, I think it’d be an interesting club to find other students at your school that enjoy programming or would be interested in learning how to. </p>
<p>For writing, you could start a writing club, if there isn’t one already. There’s one at my school that I was part of for a while. At each meeting, every member would share a piece and ask the other members to “dress, press, or address,” meaning they could ask for positive opinion, criticism, or both. It was honestly really fun, and it was a great way to improve writing skill. Also, I have a friend that was writing a story on Wattpad, and she actually ended up publishing it as a senior in high school. There’s definitely a lot you could do with writing. </p>
<p>You have learned a lot taking care of a handicapped brother. You could get involved in a local chapter of an autism support organization or something like Special Olympics. </p>
<p>You don’t need to do any “ECs” per-se. What you need to do is get outside validation for what you are doing. In addition, pursuing the outside validation will give you focus, deadlines, and levels of expectation- all very good things. So maybe sign up for WOOT on AoPS if you are aiming for the AIME and beyond. Target a specific problem, science fair, or Hack contest with your coding. Maybe write it up and submit it to a student conference or journal. Contribute a story to a magazine or literary journal (online or print). The higher the level of competition, the bigger the pool, and the more objective the judging, the more relevant the accomplishment; in terms of outside validation.</p>
<p>There is a gulf between ideation and actuation. Wade into it and through it. It will add depth to your life and may spark a real cause for you to champion.</p>
<p>@rhapsody17 Haha, I don’t think that would work, but thanks for the suggestion. I’m already in a speech group with other people like me (though I’m still the most quiet).</p>
<p>You could definitely start a quiz bowl team/club. My school has one and they compete with other grades and the winners go one to regional competitions</p>