Michaela Cushing-Daniels
Finding Your People: Joining a Sports Team in DC
Michaela Cushing-Daniels
Fall 2015
When I was going through the application process for college, there was one requirement regardless of which school I chose: there had to be an Ultimate team. I had played Ultimate Frisbee throughout high school, and knew that I wanted to continue when I went to college. So, naturally, when I was preparing for my semester in DC, I knew leaving the BU women’s ultimate team for the semester would be the hardest part. I didn’t know anyone who was going to be in the program, and I was nervous about what I was going to do without the people that had made my first year in college so awesome, the people I most looked forward to seeing throughout the week, the people who would stay up until midnight just to play Frisbee… my people.
With some of my Frisbee teammates
I figured the easiest way to find new people in DC (and not lose my ability to flick a disc) would be to join a Frisbee team there. The first place I looked, of course, was on the Internet, and I found several club teams in the DC area. I decided when I got to the city I would go about searching for a team to play on, and I connected with someone in the city who already played for a DC team. While I was really enjoying getting to know everyone in the program, I was really excited to get back on the field and start playing Frisbee again; not to mention getting to meet my new team, the people I hoped would become my DC people.
The first practice came around, and I got a ride from the captain and a few other people on the team. I knew the minute I met them that this was going to be my haven for the semester. The place I could go to de-stress, have fun, and get away from the intense workload that awaited me when I got home for a while. I went to practice and came back already knowing these would be my people. As the semester has gone on, I’ve loved getting to know all of the people on the team and getting to continue to play Frisbee.
I’ve also learned a lot about how to find your people when you move to a new city. Having the other students in the program is a huge help in finding people to do things with, but when you’re a sophomore in a group of seniors, the opportunities for socializing outside of the Deb are more limited. Also, if I hadn’t had the other people in the program, I would have been very alone, like anyone who moves to a new city for work or school. That’s why I went out to look for my people, and would always recommend that others do the same. If you like sports, find a club team to play for in the city you’re living in. DC alone has Frisbee, kickball, flag football, run clubs, and soccer leagues, and people all over the city come together for a common interest, which absolutely makes getting to know people easier.
Joining a sports team is the best way to find your people. You can’t choose your coworkers, but you can choose the people you spend your extra time with. Moving to a new city can be scary, especially when you don’t know anyone. Finding new friends can be an uphill battle, especially if the bar scene isn’t really for you. Joining a team is the easiest way to make friends, and also, to stay active if you aren’t sure if you want to join a gym or a yoga studio. Joining Disc4Disc was the best decision I made coming to DC, and I would recommend that anyone looking to find their people look to a sports team first.
Michaela Cushing-Daniels is a sophomore majoring in Political Science.
