College is a weird place. Or maybe it’s the transition that’s weird. As a freshman you go from living at home with you parents to living on your own in a dorm. You’re used to a set schedule with friends in all of your classes to choosing to have no class until 2 p.m. and slowly having only classes with others in your respective major. So how do you find you place in a world that have become so busy with friends of opposite schedules and living in different buildings? Join a club, a sport, an organization. Become involved on campus with people who have the same interests as you. College is where you find your family.
At the beginning of my sophomore year, I still felt lost on this campus. I was uncertain with who I was a student and where I belonged on this campus. I actually wanted to leave. Then one day my friend persuaded me to come with her to the women’s rugby practice and my life at college changed. Being a club sport, there were no tryouts and not cuts from the team which was lucky for me because before college I honestly knew nothing about rugby. But that was okay to the girls on this team. From day one the girls helped me with practice and taught me all about the sport. Now I know every penalty that could happen in a game without blinking an eye and that’s because my team was there for me and helped me grow. This team of mine slowly became something more meaningful to me. They’re my family. Supported me through thick and thin and helped me find my place at this school.
When I first joined the team, we were the underdogs in our division. A fairly new team with girls who mostly had little to no rugby experience prior to college. Now, a year later, our team placed among the top 32 teams in the country. And we did this through supporting each other and becoming a family. We’re not just a team with different strengths, but a family that helps each other through our weaknesses. College is hard and tricky. It’s more than just learning and creating a future. It’s about finding out who you are as a person. What you’re willing to stand for and who you are willing to fight for. Family is something that not only exists in blood but in the care and love for others and college is where you find it.
Story by:
Samantha Ma
Public relations major, advertising minor
Upper Saddle River, NJ (Bergen County)
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