High school can sometimes feel like a battleground, so it helps to have a group of your people, or pack, so to speak. One of the easiest ways to find your pack is by joining a club. Whether you’re into chess or water polo or even K-pop, attending a club with people who share your interests can add a little something extra to these four years of high school. Clubs aren’t just for fun, they can become like a second family.

Clubs have been a defining feature of my high school experience. I have a club nearly every day after school and they are something I look forward to. Each club feels like its own little family, and we look out for each other like one too. Slam Poetry Club is constantly planning club events and we have a blast. This year alone, we’ve had a bonfire, a holiday party, a cafe meetup, and a thrift store spree. Our club founder and president, Sydney Jones, works hard to ensure the club is a safe and exciting space. We share our work, offer feedback, and just have a good time.

Slam Poetry Club isn’t the only tight knit group. The baseball team is like a brotherhood. They practice everyday after school, get food as a team and have known each other since they were little kids. “We are all friends. How could we not be? We’ve known each other forever,” said senior Pano Karatassos, “The senior class has been playing together since seventh grade.”

Whether you’ve known your club members since childhood or you’ve only just met, you can’t help but feel like you’ve known them a lifetime. Most upperclassmen will confirm that joining a club freshman year is the best decision they made. Not only does it give you the opportunity to meet new people, but getting involved helps you find what you’re passionate about and looks great on college applications.

As you would expect, a school with nearly 2,000 people has a whole boatload of clubs. A random sample of a past year’s yearbook would say that any would-be club joiner can get involved in one of the hundreds of clubs available at North Atlanta. Some of these clubs include various National Honor Societies,Yoga, the Gay-Straight Alliance, Chess, Creative Writing, the spring musical, National Art Society, Debate, and Students of Excellence.

The people you meet in your clubs are the people you will remember when you look back at these four years before college. They will be there to brighten your day, no matter how dreary life may seem. Clubs are a place to go where you can be yourself and do what you love. If you have yet to join a club, I highly suggest that you join one now. We have clubs for pretty much everything and if your club doesn’t exist yet, then make your own. No matter what, your club will become a home away from home.