Hey guys. I’m gonna be a junior in August, and as of now I’m in a complicated situation. One of my friends wants me to start a DECA branch at my school, and another friend wants me to make a Brick by Brick club at my school. If you don’t already know, DECA is a big international business club where you make a business model/take tests (at least that’s what I know, from my understanding of it). If you do well you can make it to regionals/states and win a bunch of awards. There’s also elections for leadership positions too. I’m meh at public speaking, but seeing all the pictures of DECA kids traveling the world seems really cool. I’m from California, and there’s a lot of DECA activity here, so there’s a lot of competition for running for a position (if I start a DECA branch at my school and it goes well, Senior year I could perhaps run for a position, but I don’t even know if I’d even stand a chance at all).
On the other hand, Brick by Brick is a nonprofit that builds schools in Africa. Each school is $8000. My friend’s Brick by Brick chapter is about half way there, and he wants me to make one at my school so we can combine forces and hopefully raise another 4k this year, maybe even more. I’ve already contacted a couple of my friends who are really interested in doing this, we’re meeting this week to discuss ideas for fundraisers. I personally think this will be fun to work with my friends to raise money and build schools in Africa. I’ve worked with my buddy who’s the president of the Brick by Brick chapter at his school, and even though it’s hard work in the end it’s pretty satisfying, seeing all the money you earned for the kids in Kenya. His faction usually raises the money by attending local fairs and selling stuff to raise money, but they’re kind of lazy about it. They’ve been attending 2 fairs per year for 3 years, and they’re only halfway there. There’s a bunch of other fairs we could probably organize/go to. I was thinking of designing a website and talking to my high school’s principal to make a big campaign to advertise it across my town/city.
My issue is, I’m not sure which one I should choose. Sure, I could do both, but next year I’m taking 4 weighted classes including 3 APs, and on top of that I’m doing Mock Trial and I have a serious bodybuilding schedule. I could probably start both, but wouldn’t colleges like it if I focused on one, instead of joining/starting a bunch of random things? I really wanna put all my effort into one of these. If I did both, my focus would be split 50/50, not 100. I kinda wanna study something involving business as a career, but I’m not too sure yet. I know DECA is good for that. But, it seems like a lot of kids who are big in DECA/have high positions/are successful have been in it since Freshman/Sophomore year, and I’d be making it as a Junior. I want to attend a competitive / top college, maybe one of the Ivies or Georgetown. I’m not going to mention my grades/test scores, I want to focus on this. Should I create both of these clubs at my school, or do one? I’m honestly torn, they’re both great opportunities. It’s Junior year, and whatever I choose, whether it be both or just one of them, I will give it my all.