My friend Sarah’s favorite school activity is participating in the drama club. She loves acting because it allows her to express herself creatively and step into different characters' shoes. Sarah often says that performing on stage gives her a sense of confidence and joy that she doesn’t find anywhere else. She enjoys collaborating with her friends to rehearse and bring stories to life. Drama also helps her improve her communication and teamwork skills, which she finds really rewarding.

The drama club meets twice a week after school, and Sarah rarely misses a session. Whenever there’s a school play or competition, she dedicates even more time to rehearsals. For Sarah, it’s not just an extracurricular activity—it’s a passion that brings her a lot of happiness and inspiration.

My friend, Alex, absolutely loves the school's debate club. It's his favorite activity by far, and he's been involved since the beginning of his sophomore year.

Why he likes it:

Alex is a naturally inquisitive and articulate person, and debate club provides the perfect outlet for these qualities. He enjoys the challenge of researching complex topics, formulating arguments, and thinking on his feet. He loves the thrill of a good debate, the way his adrenaline pumps when he's trying to convince an audience of his point of view. More than just the competition, though, he appreciates the sense of community within the club. They have lively discussions, learn from each other, and build strong friendships. He says it's like a team, but instead of physical prowess, they rely on intellectual agility. He also feels it's helped him a lot with public speaking and critical thinking, skills he knows will be valuable in the future.

How often he does it:

The debate club meets twice a week after school for practice sessions. They'll review current events, practice different debate formats, and work on refining their speaking skills. In addition to the regular meetings, Alex participates in regional and sometimes even national debate tournaments. 1 These tournaments usually take place on weekends, and he's often gone for a couple of days at a time. So, including practice and tournaments, he's actively involved in debate club activities at least three to four times a week. It's a significant time commitment, but he says it's worth every minute

My friend, Linh, absolutely loves the school's drama club. It's her favorite activity by a mile.

Linh has always been a bit of a performer, even when we were little kids. She'd put on these elaborate shows for our families, complete with costumes and dramatic monologues. So, when she discovered the drama club in high school, it was like she'd found her tribe. She loves the feeling of becoming someone else on stage, of exploring different characters and emotions. She says it's a way to express herself in a way that feels really freeing. Plus, she's made some of her closest friends in the club, people who share her passion and understand her quirky sense of humor. They have so much fun rehearsing, even when it's late at night and they're exhausted.

She's involved in the drama club pretty much year-round. They usually put on two major productions a year, a play in the fall and a musical in the spring, which means rehearsals take up a lot of her time. In the weeks leading up to a show, she's there almost every day after school, sometimes even on weekends. But she doesn't mind at all. She says it's worth it for the thrill of the performance and the camaraderie she shares with the cast and crew. Even when there isn't a show in the works, she still goes to the club's weekly meetings to work on monologues, play improv games, and just hang out with her friends. It's a huge part of her life, and I know she wouldn't have it any other way.