Yesterday, I went to what I’m pretty sure is the first football game I’ve ever been to in my entire life.
I went because I joined the cheerleading team. (“What?” I hear you cry. “But Liz, this is not like you.”)
The things I really like about the cheerleading team, which I joined approximately two weeks ago, are threefold.
- I really like throwing people in the air, which is all we do during practice, and I appreciate this. It makes me feel strong, and besides, what good is a club if it doesn’t have a pretty high risk of death associated with it? Nothing, that’s what I think. (This is coming from the girl who is also on the rock climbing club, so maybe I have actually discovered something that I like in a sport.) Also there’s something to be said for “today my day was good because I literally saved someone’s life, or at least from a serious head injury when she crashed headfirst into the track.”
- The team needs more people- they went through an agressive campaign oh, about two weeks ago (to generate their person-capital) and I think it worked pretty well, but it’s great because I immediately get to DO everything because there are literally not enough people do do them.
- Most of the people on the team are either engineers or pre-med, so we have a lot in common academically-wise- actually a few of them are in my classes, which I didn’t know. And everyone is so kind and nice and loving- pretty much the opposite of any stereotype ever. And now I feel like I’m part of a team, and I feel like I have friends. Which is really nice.
As it turns out, when you go to a school that prides itself on its academics and not at all on its sports teams, nobody cares that much about football. There is a cheer that is just “go that way” to remind the football player or the 12 parents who showed up which way the ball is supposed to be moving. I had a really great time, despite probably getting hypothermia, because I really do like all the people on the team. Nobody really was watching us, except us, which is why we were kind of just doing a practice except on the track instead of on mats. It was good.
Yesterday night, I went over to one of their houses and we played games and talked and ate pizza. It was really good. I felt like I was in a group.
I think that I’ve been making a little bit more of an effort to invest in my friendships, recently, and I think it’s paying off (if by paying off you mean “am less lonely and have no time to do homework”). My friend and I went to go see a play on Friday night, ran into a girl in my engineering class who she also knows, and ended up staying up for three hours playing songs from musicals. I think I’m cooking tomorrow with another friend.
So I think things are slowly working themselves out. And the community that is on the cheerleading team is, I feel, kind of different and stronger than on the rock climbing team, which is maybe just because of the nature of what we’re doing. I feel like developing strong friendships is easier.
It’s good. And college is a time to get out of your comfort zone, anyway. 🙂
Also when I went over to that girl’s house yesterday I found out that I definitely know her boyfriend from something else. And he’s nice. And this is just nice because I feel like I am starting to get to know random people here.
Things are okay.
American in Moldova 