Countless students follow the same after-school routine. After a long day at school, they joyfully return home with a smile on their face. That happiness is because while they were forced to learn and work at school, there are no expectations like that at home. As the sun rises and sets, they have the freedom to mindlessly waste the rest of the day away. That's why rather than spending time outdoors, focusing on hobbies, or spending time with friends and family, students just lock themselves into their rooms. Then, they proceed to pull out their electronics and play away until the end of the day. It's an extremely unhealthy yet addictive lifestyle. But, that lifestyle could change if students had an after-school activity to attend. They would start spending more attention to what's outside of the virtual world. Thus, it is my firm belief that every student should be required to participate in an least one extracurricular activity because it will increase student productivity, improve students' social skills, and promote student engagement.

If an extracurricular activity became a requirement, students would have a more beneficial activity to attend after-school. Every day, when school comes to an end, many students find themselves with hours and hours of free time. However, they end up accomplishing nothing because they have no tasks to complete and no activities to participate in. So, they turn to their main source of entertainment- electronics. And while students are fortunate enough to have the entire day to spend on their phones and computers, no good comes out of it. That's why extracurricular activities are necessary. Students may resent it at first, but in the long run it will create significant improvements to their lifestyle. Students could spend their free time on activities more worthwhile. They could be winning a soccer championship or fund raising for those in need. The entire world is there for students to explore and discover. All students need is a small push in the right direction.

Furthermore, extracurricular activities also give students opportunities to interact with their peers. It can be intimidating for students when they have to join a group of complete strangers. However, although it is nerve-wracking, students have the wonderful opportunity to make new friends. Their team will contain people of a similar age group and perhaps similar interests. Besides, with how frequent meetings are, members will be spending an abundance of time together; they're guaranteed to form new friendships. On the contrary, extracurricular activities also help maintain current friendships. It can be difficult to meet up with friends out of school, so joining an extracurricular activity allows students to get together more often. All in all, as it goes with any team, members form a tight bond with one another. By the end of the year, they'll be surprised by the amount of new friends they've made.

Lastly, extracurricular activities promote students' engagement with their community. Students rarely ever have an opportunity to venture beyond their small school environment, which consequently limits the amount of change they're able to make. However, with extracurricular activities, students will have more opportunities to make an impact on their community. For example, being a part of the student council gives you many opportunities to make a difference. Members raise awareness of issues, fund raise for the needy, and even more. Being active in a team like that motivates students. With all they accomplish, they being to feel much more productive and hence acquire a sense of belonging. That results in students truly believing they can make a difference in the world, which then causes them to become more engaged and active in their community.

It's common knowledge that extracurricular activities are extremely beneficial, yet many students still hesitate from participating and consequently miss out on amazing opportunities. Extracurricular activities have a much larger role than just providing entertainment. They allow students to become more productive, social, and active in their community. We can't allow students to miss out on a chance to build those skills. The experiences they obtain from the extracurricular activities will stick with them for life. Therefore, if participating becomes a requirement, our world will become a much better place. Students may have their doubts about extracurricular activities, but they will truly be tremendously changed by them. The requirement of extracurricular activities will allow our world to raise much healthier and productive generations. With just a simple requirement, the future of our society will look much brighter.