I actually laid pretty low during my first semester as an EML member, partly because I was still pretty frazzled trying to adjust as a university freshman, but mostly because I wasn't too confident in myself yet. I'd only been majorly present during the workshop + Plugin, and then helped a bit behind the scenes at EML's 30th anniversary event. I barely remembered my interactions with the club during that period; I was functionally a ghost that didn't feel ready to step up yet. It was only in my 2nd semester that I started involving myself more in the lessons and sessions. Perhaps because the club was "cooling down" from EML30, and that semester didn't see any major events, I think the club atmosphere became more casual. And that may have drawn me out to explore my musical style(s), and learn to loosen myself a little. Even though I had ample background in classical music, I was an absolute amateur to producing my own contemporary music, and performing that with new modern instruments. I might know with more confidence what notes and chords sound good, but I had loads to learn in pretty much everything else. The lessons and immediate feedback were extremely useful to me in that regard, and I didn't have to pick things up on my own. Not that it'll be completely impossible to learn by myself through numerous video tutorials, but there was extra value being in this together with others, even helping each other out if needed. Since then I've been extremely grateful for the events that I've been involved in as an EML member, each of which has granted me invaluable experience and pushed my boundaries a little bit further.