A student finally gathers their courage, walks into a club’s first meeting of second semester and feels the warm welcome as soon as they stepped through the threshold.

A great way to boost motivation in high school is to join a club or organization because of the support and sense of family that comes from it.

Many different reasons to join a club in high school include: colleges, gaining life skills and to find yourself.

College looms over high school students like a dark cloud. Since everyone wants to stand out, it’s hard to get noticed. Luckily, there’s a small and simple solution—join a club. Colleges take notice of students who balance grades, while still managing to set aside quality time to spend focusing on their passions.

Although some argue having a part-time job or focusing on studies take priority over clubs at high school, joining a school organization allows for students to take on leadership roles or express themselves freely in a familiar environment.

Most skills needed in life can’t be learned in a classroom. Using teamwork and communication to complete a group project is a lot different than using teamwork and communication to put together a play or a newspaper. Some organizations, like Student Council or National Honor Society expand leadership skills, whereas being a part of a sports team brings out a fighting spirit and competitiveness.

Just because it’s the second semester, doesn’t mean it’s the end of the line. Clubs based on shared interests always look for new members and more people to bond with.

Learning who one is as a person is hard enough as an adult—much less as a teen.

Based on personal experience with being in the fall play, there’s never a set amount of time needed to make a close friend. People who were once strangers could be amazing friends within three months or simply a day just by spending time together outside of school.

So take the first step to join a club and it might make high school years rate from zero to 10.