<p>I have a lot of social anxiety so I never joined any clubs before my junior year. This year I felt like I had completely missed out on the HS experience, so I joined a ton of clubs. I really wanted to experiment and get the most out of my remaining high school experience. I'm currently part of 7 different clubs, which isn't nearly as time-consuming as it sounds because clubs at my school only meet once a month (sometimes twice, depending on the club).</p>
<p>I really love all these clubs except Book Club. I joined the club mainly because:
1. It would show "direction" on my college app (I want to be an English major)
2. I love love LOVE reading!</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the club isn't anything like I thought it would be. Almost half the members are teacher sponsors. Although we get to vote for the books we read, the teachers choose what books are up for voting. I feel like I really don't have much of a say in the club.</p>
<p>The other problem I have is that so far I've hated all the books we've read! I'm a very sci-fi/fantasy oriented person. We've only read one fantasy book so far, and I hated it (lousy plot). The books we tend to read concern things like child abuse, war, reality fiction, etc. They are very intense, serious, and overall fairly depressing.</p>
<p>I'm really not into any of this stuff. When I brought up that I thought we should read things that were more lighthearted and less intense, some of the teacher sponsors told me that the whole point of the club was to be subjected to books that we wouldn't normally read.</p>
<p>I think that's a bunch of BS!!!!!!! I read enough serious stuff for school. I'm self-studying AP Lit. and currently have tons of serious stuff I'm reading, thank you very much. I joined this club so I could read for fun.</p>
<p>This Book Club is more like a class than a club. We read books that are used in grammar classes, and the whole club is so structured that it's ridiculous. I feel like the students have no say whatsoever (we don't even have a club president; the sponsors seem to be in charge of EVERYTHING). I never have anything good to say about the books, and almost everyone has made it pretty clear that if I don't have anything good to say then they don't want to hear it. (Even if I do make some valid points and fully back up my reasons with examples from the book.)</p>
<p>It has come to the point that I hate going to the meetings anymore. I want to quit, but I'm not sure if I should. I don't want to look like someone who refuses to see things through, but does this mean I should stay with the club until I graduate? Also, my grammar teacher (the only one in the club who actually cares about my critical analysis) mentioned in my recommendation letter that she values my insightful input in the club. It makes me feel kind of bad about wanting to quit. There aren't many members, so I'm also afraid the club might fail without me. And what about my college app? I already put this club on my college application, so am I even allowed to quit?</p>
<p>So, all things considered, do you think I should quit or stick with it? And, if you think I should quit, should I formally announce that I'm quitting or should I just stop showing up?</p>