I played pick-up ultimate frisbee tonight at Belmont with a bunch of freshmen. The school year just started a week ago. It was a lot of fun. The freshmen guys and girls were good people. There’s still that one douche bag upperclassmen, but hey, 1 out of 30 isn’t so bad. Compared to summer league, 1:30 is a great ratio (as opposed to like 1:5).

I met a lot of people, which I haven’t done in a long time. Most of the time I don’t even try to learn the names of new people that show up, but tonight was different. There’s something about being around a group of people who are in a new college environment and eager to meet people. It’s easier for me to meet people when cliques haven’t already formed.

It made me almost feel like I was part of the dorm family again. Like I belonged again. I know that’s not the best thing to say, since I have great friends. But this was different.

I also realized how much I like encouraging people. Frisbee gives me an avenue to do that. When someone drops a pass, “Hey, good try man, no worries.” I can only really be encouraging when I feel encouraged myself, and tonight was the first time I felt that way in a good amount of time. For the past month or so I’ve been a little sad. Always a little sadness underneath it all. Tonight there was no sadness; at least while I was out there playing.

I know that I can’t go back to college and live in a dorm again. That life is over and gone. But maybe I can learn to encourage people who need it. One day, perhaps years from now, maybe I’ll have what it takes to be a counselor. Or a teacher.

It felt good to be encouraged again. To be around people that are trying to find their way in a new situation made me feel a little better subconsciously I guess, because I’m still trying to find my way. Still fighting it.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 at 10:49 pm and is filed under introspect, ultimate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.