The Cost of Belonging

By: Estrella Pompa

The Cost of Belonging

Estrella Pompa

Belonging, a nine letter word meaning to be a member or a part of (a particular group, organization, or class). Every child in their lifetime has the need to feel a sense of belonging. Many find this in joining after school clubs and sports. These activities become their outlets to express themselves, blow off steam, and make new friends. Though many don’t realize that hundreds of dollars go into joining. Some of the money is a joining fee and the rest goes towards uniforms, equipment, transportation, etc.

Prices can vary greatly depending on the different sports and clubs. For many of the clubs offered at Mary Persons, the fees don’t go over $50. Clubs like Student Council don’t require a membership fee at all, but clubs like FBLA do require it along with an optional fee for a t-shirt.

Sports, on the other hand, require more expensive joining fees and additional optional fees. Though they can seem very expensive at first glance, teams hold fundraisers to help pay for majority of the fees. Cheer, one of the seemingly most expensive sports, holds many fundraisers for the booster club that helps pay for their necessities of that season, according to Jasmyn Porter. She also says, “ The prices depend. I paid $400 since I didn’t buy a new cheer jacket because I still had mine from last year.” Many of the additional items such as shirts, jackets, sweatpants, etc. aren’t required, therefore, the cost isn’t as much as it seems.

Other sports have different costs. Tennis, like cheer, is a bit costly as well. According to Rebecca Kenirey, the joining fee is $150 and the price for uniforms are $60. Track, on the other hand, is less costly with the members, according to Cheyla Tafolla, only having to pay about $40 for warm ups. Members of the soccer team, unlike many of the other teams, virtually pay for nothing.

Though it seems costly, people join these sports and clubs every year. It gives people a sense of belonging when they join a group of other people with the same interests as them. They make new friends, learn to express themselves in a healthy way, and better hone in new skills that they can use later in life. The cost to join is incomparable to the benefits one can get from finding their sense of belonging. The cost of belonging is a cost worth paying.

Estrella Pompa is a student at Mary Persons High School and Editor