August 16th was my first day at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. I was the first one of my friends to leave for school and I was also one of the first ones to move in at Stockton. I am currently a member of the Stockton Ospreys field hockey team. Continuing to pursue my passion for field hockey threw me into college two and a half weeks early for preseason. I was placed in an apartment with two other girls on the team, also known as complete strangers, and was surrounded by apartments filled with other strangers. My choice to play field hockey at Stockton also stripped me of a proper “goodbye” to my family. Moving into my apartment entailed my parents dropping my belongings off in the apartment as I was taking my concussion baseline test. That was it.
I am incredibly close to my family, meaning this abrupt goodbye was incredibly hard on me. Not only was I trying to adapt to a college which was two hours from my home, but I was also trying to get used to a new coaching staff, a hectic practice schedule, and a team of girls who I have never met before. Needless to say, I was beyond overwhelmed. My stress ended up turning into sub-par performance on the field and countless tear-filled phone calls to my mom and dad. I began second guessing my love for the sport, and started preparing myself for that talk with my coach that would ultimately place my field hockey career on a shelf.
Moving into my actual dorm room with other freshman flipped my perspective on everything from new friends to being so far from home to field hockey. On August 27th, my parents and my siblings spent hours with me unloading the car, decorating my dorm room, and organizing all of my belongings into my new home. At this point, my practice schedule was beginning to lighten up and classes were about to begin. My free time quickly vanished and as a result, I had less and less time to think about home.
Deciding to stay on the Stockton field hockey team was probably one of the best decisions I have made in a long time. I now have a close knit group of friends that are also freshman field hockey players, in addition to twenty other friends. I continue to have my good days and my bad ones, but that comes with the territory, field hockey or no field hockey. I love being involved with the team and having something to take up my free time. I thrive on being busy and field hockey keeps my daily schedule quite eventful. It devastates me that I almost gave that all up because of my insecurity being in a new place with so many aspects of life that I was not yet accustomed to. I am so incredibly proud of myself for pushing through one of the hardest transitions in my life.
The Stockton Field Hockey team has made it through about half of our season so far, playing nationally ranked opponents and handling referees that make game-changing calls. Our record does not nearly represent the talent that we have, but as a team, we are pushing through, and gradually regaining our hunger for victory. We are out on that field to have fun and to do what we love. I pushed through those tears and the stress of being new; my team can push through losing streaks. Whether I am handling my own personal problems or team difficulties, we are all in this together; we are the Stockton Ospreys.