After two great games this past weekend, there are so many things that assure me that this season will be a great one. After a tactical and intense practice Friday afternoon, my teammates and I were ready for the weekend. Later that evening, we met as a team over some delicious snacks to talk about our goals for Saturday. We sat together and really shared our commitment to leaving everything on the field and having no regrets. That night I laid in my humble abode and confessed to my roommate, “I have a really good feeling about tomorrow.” Before I knew it, I was dining at the Devil’s Den with the team along with four recruits. We got to know them and them us over a hearty breakfast. Finally, 1 o’clock came. As we huddled up before the game, we all knew that it wasn’t about our opponent, where they were from or the color of their uniform, it was about us, about Duke Field Hockey. We battled relentlessly the whole game, connecting passes, out letting and transferring better than ever before. Although we came up short, it was a turning point in our season. It was a new standard for every member of our team and we all agreed that we would only go up from that level of play and continue to improve.
After the game was our tailgate, with delicious wings, pasta salad, fruit and a ton of other food. A significant group of our biggest fans, our parents of course, enjoyed the tailgate as well. We took our recruits to the ever so exciting football game that afternoon, where we watched Duke take on Army. The game was a great experience, we sat right behind the Duke bench so the fabulous seats didn’t hurt. After a long day in the hot Carolina sun, we dined at Elmo’s where I indulged in probably the best BLT I have had in North Carolina (obviously still not as good as the BLTs in New Jersey). The following day, we played Richmond and were victorious. We played well and we played together. We are determined to come out of next weekend’s games with two great wins, knowing that we must put in the work this week at practice.
Aside from field hockey, Duke has been everything I envisioned and more. I love the classes I am taking, a fair amount of reading, but managing my time well is the key and so far so good! I really enjoy my multimedia documentaries class, it focuses on photography and how images are used in projects like documentaries or simply to tell a story. It is a bonus that my roommate and two other field hockey freshmen happen to be in the class. Most of my meals are enjoyed at the Marketplace, which is the cafeteria for students on East Campus. It makes my day when I walk into the dining hall and see that pasta with a choice of red sauce or Alfredo sauce is being served. After dinner, I also enjoy some of their delicious blueberry pie al a mode. It is also very common for my roommate and I to order Jimmy Johns subs as a midnight snack, it makes the late night studying a little more enjoyable.
With the team looking better and growing everyday and school going great, my start here at Duke has been made of a lot of work but with truly unparalleled rewards. This coming weekend promises two great games and I can’t wait to be a part of it.
-Grace
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