There are some things you want to leave behind in high school: eight-hour school days, AP classes, having to ask in front of the entire class to go relieve yourself.

But many of us will have something we will miss — the ability to take all sorts of classes and do myriad activities without worrying about how they will impact our future. After all, we were only trying to get into college at that point, right?

However, while we should start focusing on where our major could take us (or just trying to figure out what our major should be!), it’s also important to realize that in college, we do have a lot of extra time. We aren’t in school all day, and we don’t have mom or dad telling us to do chores when we get home.

In other words, you should pursue activities outside your major. You can, and should, do activities that may not necessarily be the direct path toward landing a job.

In high school, many of us probably did something that we loved, but then chose not to pursue a career in that area. In my case, I loved music. I was in an orchestra, a concert band and marching band, but I chose to study journalism.

Coming to the University, I knew that I couldn’t stop playing the flute and piccolo, because if I did, I would be losing a part of who I am. I now average about three music classes per year, with the Marching Illini taking up an incredible chunk of my fall semesters. But I obviously still write for The Daily Illini, and cannot wait to make a career out of writing and reporting.

So long story short, do what you love. I don’t care if you say that you adore engineering and never want to leave the Bardeen Quad. All of us are multi-faceted people and are at this University because of that. Find an activity that you know you love, or try to discover a new love.

For those of you who are interested in music on campus, keep reading. Everyone else, go pick up a plant from the horticulture club.

If you’d like to take classes outside your major, credit is offered for concert and athletic bands, orchestras and choral groups. Not to mention, classes like these tend to be GPA boosters. There are many different ability levels for the concert bands, orchestras and choral groups, so you should be able to find something that is suitable for your playing or singing level. These classes should remain open through the first week of classes, so it is not too late to sign up. Athletic bands consist of the Marching Illini, which plays for football games, the basketball band, which plays for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams and the newly-formed volleyball band, which plays for the women’s volleyball team. Registration for this season’s Marching Illini is closed, but registration for the latter two remain open.

But if you don’t want to add another class to your load, you still have many options. There are tons of a cappella groups on campus, students performing at the Illini Union, and no one will look at you strangely if you whip out a guitar and play on the quad.

These are only a few options out of a campus of 40,000 students — there are surely many more to be discovered.

So go out there and do what you love. And leave your résumé at the door.

Kirsten is a junior in Media. She can be reached at [email protected].