Involvement Fair 8/30/24
The Involvement Fair has been an event wandering around my mind since the “Weeks of Welcome” schedule was published two weeks ago, and it had taken the forefront of my thoughts on Wednesday…
In starting this new chapter of my life, I was nervous about meeting new people, and I knew that I wouldn’t have athletics to help guide me through that process, making it a much tougher transition than I initially thought. Athletics have been present in my life since I was a young child, and they helped me grow into the person I am today: kind, engaging, and approachable. Through sports, I was able to grow out of my shell and learn how to approach others and build relationships, since it was essential to the cohesiveness and success of our team. It also helped that all of us girls at practice were there because we shared a passion for the specific sport. Coming to college, I did not take the opportunity to continue my athletic career at a collegiate level but chose to apply myself to academics and find involvement through clubs. When I learned of the multitudinous athletic opportunities UNE had through club sports, my fingers began to itch with the need to find a pen and write down my email address on every signup sheet. On Friday, at 5:20 pm, that’s exactly what I did. Following my love of Tennis and Soccer in high school, it is no surprise that those are the tables I searched for first. What is a surprise, is that my name sits on sheet three of the table labeled “MMA Club” (see the picture on the right). I am known to not be a fighter. I prefer the term “kill with kindness” – one of my favorite idioms I borrowed from Shakespeare. However, I am a woman, and unfortunately, that title comes with statistically high chances of something not-so-good happening to you. Leaving the safety of my home, and the shadows of my father’s protection, I thought it was a good idea to learn how to fight and defend myself if the need ever arises. So on Friday, at 5:30 pm, I picked up a blue ballpoint pen, bent down to a piece of paper, and wrote the name, “Cally Gudroe”.
