As I prepare to enter my fourth and final year studying at Centenary, I’m doing most, if not all, of the corny and sappy, reminiscing and reflecting on my time here. Honestly, I’ll let everyone reading this in on a little secret: this reminiscing keeps the thoughts of existential dread away, and I can ignore the creeping fear of entering the working world of “real” adults. These four years will hopefully not be the best of my life, though they will certainly be special. I’ve met some amazing people I hope to keep in close contact with long after I graduate, I’ve had the great opportunity to watch myself grow and change in ways I was not expecting, and I’ve learned so much in and outside the classroom. If I had to name the best memories I’ve made so far, many would come from the organizations I’m involved with on campus.

While I think taking a diverse selection of courses is important, I cannot stress enough how important it is for your mental health to get involved in a club or organization on campus. Clubs and organizations on campus allow you to make friends in a way that doesn’t seem horribly awkward, and you can dedicate some of your time to projects that, number one, are not graded and, number two, you can watch unfold from start to finish. Organizations at Centenary help you build up your resume with new skills while having fun with your friends. But hey, I get it: a considerable percentage of the students here are astronomically busy and don’t always have the option to dedicate time to a club every week, and that is okay. If your main goal is to study hard and get that degree, I won’t criticize you. However, I will nicely suggest you join an organization that does not have strict attendance policies or requires a lot of dedication. With this marking the third year of my presidency, I have to recommend giving the Red River Poetry Society a chance.

Red River Poetry Society is Centenary’s poetry club open to all students, regardless of major or year. We typically meet once or twice a month, but attendance is not mandatory for regular members. Students are not penalized for lack of attendance and can remain members, even if they only show up once a semester. As the President of the club, I aim to create a calm, chill environment where everyone feels comfortable talking about all things poetry. We switch our meetings between workshopping existing poetry, writing poems, and bringing in other poets’ pieces to read aloud and discuss based on a theme selected in the previous meeting. I cannot stress enough that this club is not reserved for English majors! We have a lot of different majors represented in RRPS, and I’d love to see more new faces this year.

Don’t let your negative thoughts get in the way of you coming to one of our meetings, either. I firmly believe there is no such thing as bad poetry, but there are many things to unlearn to appreciate poetry. That’s one of the things we aim to do: help other students get over their fear of writing bad poems or becoming frustrated when they don’t find the higher meaning in a poem. Poetry should be fun, and with all the risks taken away, what’s the harm in trying? If my cheesy monologue persuaded you even a little, be on the lookout for any social media updates or sign-up sheets so you can be in the loop when we have our first meeting this semester.

Instagram: @redriverpoetrysociety.cent

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