Monophobia

 

For the past 5 summers I have had the luck to sign professional volleyball contracts to play in Europe. While I am always relieved to have a job for another season and excited to think about the possibilities that await me, the most overwhelming feeling 5 min after signing is...fear. I know this sounds ridiculous, why would I still have this problem going into my fifth season abroad? Well the answer is simple. After you get past the shiny, exciting lifestyle of being an athlete romping around Europe, one quickly remember that you have no friends. 

Each season all I can think about walking into the first practice is "I hope they don't hate me." Seems silly that at 26 this is the thought on my mind as I enter my new job, but hey, I'm human. When I sign up to go to a new team I usually know no one. I'm never sure if there will be other North Americans. And I do know how I will fit into the puzzle of a team of girls who have sometimes been together for a few seasons. It is so easy to become isolated when you live abroad and the worry of having positive human contact is real.

What astounds me is that each season this fear is proven to be completely irrational. Every year I have been welcomed into groups of women who not only tolerate me, but take me into their lives as though I belong there. Where I thought I'd be an outcast, I find myself part of a family. It's easy to assume that all of this is simply because we have to get along since we play on the same team. But there is more to it than that. These beautiful people pull me into their lives. I am not simply an observer of life in whatever country I live in, but I am a participant.

The biggest blessing in my life as a professional volleyball player has nothing to do with the countries I've visited or the money I make. What has enriched my life these last few years are the friends I've made. If I receive nothing else from my volleyball career I will be able to retire with the knowledge that I have had the rare opportunity of becoming a part of different cultures because of the wonderful people I can now call friends. If not for the amazing teammates I have had I probably wouldn't still be playing today. Thank you!

Top left: Dinner in Toruń, Poland 2016
Top right: Christmas market 2012 Berlin, Germany
Middle: Volksfest 2013 Stuttgart, Germany
Bottom: American Thanksgiving 2014 Beziers, France