Imagine that you are at our old middle school. There's a club that you are just dying to join, but you are too nervous to, One day, the principal comes onto the intercom and says: "as of today, all students must be part of an extracurricular activity." Finally, an excuse to join that club! This scenario is one that many students dream of, but a reality for few. Therefore, I believe that students should be required to participate in an extracurricular activity, as they can help to boost social skills, cope with depression, and develop new hobbies.

First off, mandatory participation for extracurricular activities can help boost social skills for students. Many students suffer from social anxiety, and "having any sort of extracurricular activity in a child's life can majorly boost the development of social skills due to working with others, especially in the 10-16 year old range," according to an article by psychologist Kathryn Wilson. This means that if children participate in extracurricular activities with peers, then they will most likely develop friendships with said peers.

Another reason for enforcing mandatory participation for extracurricular activities is that they can help students cope with depression. Everybody has something they like to do, and there is almost always other people who enjoy the same thing. According to a study performed by Stanford University students in 2018, 93% of students who had been diagnosed with depression reported feeling "happier and more energetic" after spending time with people who had similar interests as them. This means that spending time with like-minded people can help students combat depression.

Finally, participation in extracurricular activities should be mandatory because they can help students find new hobbies. For example, pretend that you are a student who has always wanted to fly a drone, but never has had the chance to. By joining a flight club, you could experience flying a drone, and possibly develop a new hobby! In fact, according to a survey done by

Scholastic in 2017, 96 out of 100 students who joined a new club found out that they enjoyed the club! This means that 96% of students who joined a new club were able to find a new hobby.

However, some people believe that extracurricular activities should not be mandatory. They say that some students prefer not to participate in an extracurricular activity. To test that, a group of William and Mary University students went to 3 different middle schools and asked every 8th grade student whether or not they would like participation in extracurricular activities to be mandatory. Afterwards, they took the 152 students who said no due to not wanting to have to participate in an extracurricular activity and asked them to join an extracurricular program of their choosing for one week. After the week, every single student who said that they did not want to participate in an extracurricular activity changed their minds.

Ultimately, students should be required to participate in an extracurricular activity, as they can help to boost social skills, cope with depression, and develop new hobbies. After reading this, I strongly encourage you to go out and find a group of people with similar interests as you, be it online or in person. You might be surprised at how much you enjoy it!