"I'm just a general member..."

For those who don't know, I am a first year general member at Cal State Fullerton's Circle K Club. I held positions previously in Key Club for the past 2 years when I was in high school, so going from a board member to a general member without too many responsibilities was intimidating at first. As elections are coming up, or may have passed for some schools, I'm starting to reflect on my entire year as a general member...

It was really fun.

In all honesty, some people don't have the general member experience anymore after their first year, which is why I do cherish this first year a lot. My year as a general member was full of wonderful, new experiences like Fall Training Conference, getting a big, going to new service projects I had never heard of (Compton Initiative, Isaiah's Rock, etc...), making great friends from other schools within the Magic Kingdom division, and so much more. Being a general member has made me realize something really important though.

General members are one of the most important parts of Circle K.

I am in no way trying to belittle any board positions because I am even striving to become a board member like many people I look up to, but to me, Circle K is held together like a human pyramid (from CKI South huehue). You have a lot of people at the bottom as the foundation, then you keep building on top of that until there is one person at the top. You would think that the most important person would be the one at the very top, but in reality, it's all the people at the bottom. Those are the general members in Circle K. Without that foundation, how would that person at the very top stay strong?

I admire those who stay strong general members throughout their years in Circle K, and to those who haven't been a general member for years, I hope that you remember your roots and the wonderful first experiences you had!

~Angela Lagrada, General Member at California State University, Fullerton

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