Nico Perrino

Breaks such as the one this week for Thanksgiving are always difficult for athletes. You see all your friends leaving early because classes have been canceled Monday and Tuesday, but you are forced to stay until late Tuesday night because you have practice. When you are a Freshman and are missing home these forced stays can dig at you, but as you get older you start to accept the fact that you have made a commitment and with that commitment comes sacrifices. The beauty with this realization is that once you accept that you will be alone with your teammates in a deserted college town for days, and often weeks, on end you begin to have fun. I can honestly say some of the best times with my teammates have come during the last week of winter break when we are required to be on campus to practice for the early January competitions, and during spring break when there are absolutely ZERO people in town because all of them have gone to Panama City for a week of drunken debauchery on the beach. Your friends and family will always be there, but your teammates are only your teammates for so long and college is short lived, so it’s not worth is to dwell on the fact that everyone gets to go home. After all, us athletes should view ourselves as the lucky ones, we get to stay in a college town without any responsibilities, with our expenses paid for through per diem, for what always ends up being a great time.