How I found my home away from home

The word “team” means different things to everyone. To me, the word means family. As a member of a college softball team, my team became my family as well as my home away from home. We went through many experiences together, good and bad, and all of the memories we made as a team make the bond stronger and made us wish these days would never end.

We woke up three times a week at six in the morning, but we dreaded going to conditioning. We dreaded walking to and from conditioning even more because we had to walk through snow up to our knees when we had just rolled out of bed three minutes prior. Conditioning is where a team becomes strong together, and the bond builds.

We became closer because we were suffering through the strenuous exercises together, then we had to suffer through the rest of the day together. We kept eyes on each other because we could not fall asleep in classes after conditioning was over. Then after classes were over, we suffered through practices the same day. By the end of practice, none of us were able to move our bodies, that is actually what brought our team closer together—suffering. Isn’t that ironic?

The best time of the year is when your team gets to go play softball during your Spring Break. If you think about it, it is a paradise. One full week away from the dorm life, you get to spend that week in the sun with you best friends you could ever ask for, and do the one thing that you all love more than anything- play softball- and you get to do it together. It’s the time every player waits for.

One week in March is a vacation and play time for a team. You make more team memories and take so many pictures that your storage will exceed its amount. During the week, you learn how your team plays together, and it helps teach everyone how we will play during the season. Once the week is over, it draws a slow depression from every team member. Nobody wants to go back to your snowy school town to be cold again- we wanted to stay in the warmth and never leave because we had the time of our lives.

Once the season starts though, Florida is kind of a distant memory because you only focus on your season and having fun again playing ball with your best friends. The season goes by so quickly even though it is gone within the blink of an eye. After the last game of the season, the year ends all at once, and everyone goes back home for the summer. That is what makes the end of the season sad because you want to keep playing. You know that as soon as you play your last game of the season, you will have to clean out your dorm. It will be time to say goodbye to your family and go back home for the summer- some team members farther than others.

The last game does come and go, and you do have to go back home. You hug all of your temporary family members goodbye and promise to keep in touch throughout the summer. You plan visits to see each other at least once a month because you know you cannot go a day without seeing your sisters. You FaceTime, Snapchat and text each other 24/7 and count down the days until you go back to school and see your family again. You look forward to having another fantastic year with everyone and create new memories.