MikeRapin.com Your average geek who happens to be a cynical college student

Getting involved

I've been at GVSU for three and a half years now. It's really crazy to think about for me. Three and a half years of knowledge, partying, friends, enemies, good times, and bad times. So much stuff.

Although the main goal of going to college is to ultimately get a degree in something and use that degree to get some high paying job and blah blah blah, I have to say that, when it comes down to it, getting involved outside of academics was the best choice I could have ever made at GVSU.

Three fantastic things have come out of me getting involved:

1. I've met and kept many great friends
2. I've created something I am overly proud of despite it's many flaws
   • That would be my TV show, 'Jeff & Mike Write A Comic Book'
3. I've discovered how much I like to talk to groups of people, especially those I'm comfortable with

First off, the people I've met through these extra-curricular activities have all been amazing. Ever last one of them. In all honesty, I don't know where I'd be if I hadn't gone out and tried something new (the first thing being the Apple Club my freshman year). I don't know if I'd have as many great friends as I do if I had just done what I feel a lot of freshman do who were in my situation: sit in their room and assume they're going to have friends from high school at their beck and call or depend solely on the people in their dorm to be their friends.

Then there's 'Jeff & Mike.' My oh my, I didn't know I had it in me to be creative. Way back (actually just over a year ago) I saw a random ad/article in the GVSU Lanthorn about how GVTV--the GVSU student run TV station--was taking TV pitches from anyone who had an idea. I had a day to prepare a pitch and I decided to write up a pseudo-script for the "panel of judges." I sat down, got a few ideas (two that were simply outrageous and two I was confident about--if you really want to know, ask) and after a while ran with one I called "Jeff & Mike Write A Comic Book." It seemed ridiculous and I thought it was going to get shot down because of how simplistic it was, but lo and behold, they liked it and decided to start filming the next semester.

I really never thought I'd have it in me to write anything like this and have people actually like it and get behind me on it. I found out how to write scripts (thanks to a brilliant application called Celtx) and sat down and fleshed out some basic ideas I had for episode one with my buddy Jeff. It was then that we decided that co-writing the show was a fantastic idea and we've done it ever since. We've written four episodes, filmed two, and are in the middle of filming episode three (with hopes of filming episode four as well).

For all you fans out there: there's a possibility that the show may not end with Jeff graduating this year. We may be filming a few episodes this summer if all goes well, but don't get your hopes up yet. Also... there are rumors of a musical episode. We will see.

Finally, if it wasn't for getting involved, I would never have found out how much I like to speak to groups of people about topics I have a serious passion about. If the Apple Club and Comic Book Club have taught me anything, it's that I do have the ability to speak in front of groups and I really do enjoy it. Back in the day when Apple Club (aka Apple User Group aka Apples & Oranges) was still an active organization on campus, I became president and had some of the best times getting up in front of the group--albeit a small one, but a group nonetheless--and talking for nearly and hour straight about one thing or another. Also, it's thanks to this group that I've met some of my better friends to date.

Then came the Comic Book Club. There's nothing more that I love than talking about comic books with my friends and, as of late, talking with this organization. We have a great group of people that have a very diverse interest in comic books--something that really surprised me back when we started. And it's this group that I speak in front of every week and I love it every single week when I do. It's something I look forward to and I really hope that people look forward to hearing from me each week.

So as I said, getting involved at GVSU has been the best choice I have made in my college career and I wouldn't trade it for the world. My advice to any college-goers out there: if you have an interest, go find more people who share that interest at your campus. You won't regret it.