Like every fight, the first round is for observation and recognition of the opponent. The first semester is like boxing. You must be alert and ready to enjoy the best moments. The path will be full of obstacles but, like any fighter, giving up is not an option. Here I go, next destination: University of South Carolina.
I arrived in the USA on August 17, 2015. The assistant coach of the team (Jeff Nevolo) picked me up at the airport. We had already met on the visit. We talked a little bit about the college life and about my process of coming to college on the way to my new home. I did not say much since I was just trying to absorb all the information that was being passed. I confess I felt lost, sometimes there was a lot going on all at once.
I had my rackets, a suitcase, and a backpack. Jeff walked me to the door of my new apartment. There were four rooms that I would share with 3 other girls on the team. The building had just opened so everything was new. One of the girls opened the door and showed me my room. There was a bed, a desk, and a dresser with drawers. I went in and asked myself: what do I do now? Where do go? I did not bring much. Just some clothes, sneakers and my rackets, no bedding or towels. I spent some time organizing my things without knowing what I would do in the next few hours. I cried a lot, I was already missing home.
Suddenly, one of the girls walks into my room and says: let’s go, we have orientation for freshmen. I grabbed my backpack and left. On the way, we stopped at Target. I was “dizzy”, I didn’t know where to start. The girls started throwing a lot of stuff in my cart. They were going very fast, I didn’t even have time to choose what I really wanted. Since I was riding with them, I had to get in the rhythm. I’ll never forget the time that they threw a trash can in my cart saying, “trust me, it’s very useful, you’ll need it.” They were right, after a few days of classes, I realized how useful a trash can could be.
One of the things that I did in the second week was to ask one of my teammates to go to Walmart; I wanted to buy a bicycle. Until then, I was depending on someone to drive me to classes and practice. As much as the classes were close to each other, the time in between was so short that sometimes there was no way I could make it on time to practices and classes. I always say that it was the best purchase I made here. The bicycle was always with me, rain or shine, hot or cold, I was still riding it. I remember arriving to class with my hand frozen in the winter, the temperature was below 40 degrees. However, I would not trade my bike in for a car that first year. I had the opportunity to learn the campus and surroundings that I would not have know if I was driving. It forced me to communicate more with my teammates and other people around the university.
Coming from Rio de Janeiro, I was not prepared for the winter in America. When it arrived, I realized that I didn’t bring enough warm clothes. I tried to put on several long-sleeved clothes, but it did not solve my “problem”. Without much experience in America and suffering with the cold, my first thought was ‘let’s go to Walmart again, there must be something that can help me.’ I went there and bought five stronger coats that saved me. I think every Brazilian at first especially, likes a Walmart. I was one of those people. There, I could find everything with a very good cost benefit.
Being a freshman in college is like starting from scratch, a new and adult life, I would say. You are responsible for yourself. Managing time is a very important factor in the beginning since we are not used with the routine. There were so many things to get done in a single day that when I arrived at home I remember feeling that sensation of “mission accomplished”. The Fall (August-December) is the pre-season period. Most tournaments are individual even though we are playing for the name of the university. It is the semester that we have more free time compared to the Spring, but in which we practice and lift harder. Right in the first day of training, we received a folder with rules and attitudes that we were to follow during our time at USC. If you didn’t accomplish what was stated, you would not practice or everyone on your team would run bright and early. We had several physical tests at the beginning; they were meant to test our mental toughness and your willingness to suffer.
Some days are longer than the others in the first year. During the week, we have a busy schedule constantly. Workouts were early in the morning, classes next, team practices, tutors after that and individual lessons with the coaches between classes. Not to mention the extra activities like community service (a way to give back to the community the support that we receive from the university).
As you know, football is one of the most popular sports in America. When I arrived, Americans thought it was crazy that I didn’t know the rules. Students are fascinated by sports in college, especially football. In the fall, games take place almost every weekend. Saturday’s event was to watch the games after our practice. It was a different feeling when I entered the stadium for the first time and felt all that energy and support for the university. Even though tennis doesn’t have even half of the fans that football has, I could feel how it was going to be like to play for the University of South Carolina and that was what I wanted. Sunday’s were the calmest days. In the beginning, it was difficult for a couple times to be away from my family. However, it was important for me to always keep in mind the purpose of why I was there. These days, I used my time to plan the week, organize my room, do homework to stay on track with school and I could not wait to start the week with new challenges to overcome. It was a challenging semester, every week you get better at something and you are building your own path, it is a test for the start of an adult life.
“The greater the challenge, the more glory in overcoming it.” -Novak Djokovic