Social Support

It is becoming more and more common in our society to talk about the social aspects of things.  Social Networking, (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc), and cell phones are just some of the ways that we can stay connected to the people who we care about and who care about us.

This week marks the end of my career as a collegiate swimmer and I cannot tell you how much support I have been getting through the more electronic sources.

A couple days ago on Facebook I posted "Back in Chicago for Conference 2013.  Thinking about the first one three years ago.  Missing my upperclassmen from back then, but looking forward to a good meet this week with my underclassmen."  I then tagged all my upperclassmen girls in the post.  The response from them was awesome.  So many of them I have not talked to in months, but they immediately posted back, telling me "Good Luck" and "Enjoy the Meet".

I also received countless phone calls and texts throughout the day from all the girls who used to swim with me.  It meant so much to me to have these ladies supporting me from across the country as if they were on deck with me.

One of the most interesting social supporters that I have is a guy who used to swim for Valpo.  I think I have actually met this guy a total of two times.  He was four years older than me, so he graduated Valpo at the same time I graduated high school.  Our connection is Butterfly, the stroke.  He was a Butterflier, just like me.

He has followed my college career closely.  I did well freshman year, but have been struggling to get back to those times since then.  He knows.  He watches the results of every meet.  Sophomore year after conference he Facebook messaged me because he had seen that I had swum faster during the season than at conference, the final meet.  He literally just messaged me to tell an experience of his from college and give me some encouragement/motivation for junior year.  I saved that conversation and still look back on it when I get really down.

He is still watching.  (I realize that sounds a bit creepy, but trust me, it so is not).  Today I posted about it being my three year anniversary with my boyfriend.  He quickly commented back saying "YOU SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON SWIMMING FAST NOT ON YOUR BOYFRIEND."  Probably true.  Even though this was not the response I was expecting for that post, I actually really enjoy knowing that he is watching out for me and my swimming.

Regardless of who is watching, it is always wonderful to know that there is someone cheering for me.  Whether they are across the pool or across the country I love having people around to support me and the social aspect of my support system increases the amount of people that I have at all times supporting me.

Got the T-Shirt

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.  Never do those words seem as true as when I am doing laundry.  I have enough t-shirts to go over a month without washing my clothes.  Today as I was folding my shirts I began to notice things.

For instance, 27 t-shirts came out of the dryer.  This only counts the short-sleeved, cotton t-shirts, I am not including in this number the long-sleeve cotton t-shirts, the sweatshirts, the sweatpants, or the workout clothes.  After folding them I realized that I had paid for exactly three of them.  Of those 27 t-shirts, five of them did not say "Valpo", or "Valparaiso University" on them somewhere.  

About half of the shirts said something about Valpo swimming or Valpo athletics.  That made sense, since as a member of a varsity D1 squad we have to match each other at practices, meets and events.  And since stock is constantly changing, we need to have new matching clothes every year.  After four years with the team, I could probably go a month wearing only "Valpo Swimming" shirts that I have gotten for free.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not complaining.  In fact I wholly appreciate the generosity of the athletic department in clothing me.  Not only do I have "Valpo Swimming" wear, I also have a number of "Valpo Athletics" wear, and "Valpo Basketball/Volleyball" wear.  All of this I have gotten from the university by either being a student athlete or supporting a Valpo athletic team.  

This generosity is not limited to just the athletic department.  I have free tees from the Career Center, and UPC (the student planning council).  And let's not forget engineering and engineering societies.  I have shirts from  the Society of Women Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers and their respective conferences.  I have tees just say "Valparaiso University College of Engineering".  So many T-shirts!

I wear these t-shirts all the time.  At work last summer I wore exclusively Valpo t-shirt, to the point where the Iron-Workers started calling me "Val".  

But what will I do with all these free tees after I graduate and have to wear professional clothes all the time?  Make a t-shirt blanket?  Use them as rags?  Throw them out?  I don't know.  But until then I can worry about other things, like what will I have for lunch, or when will I do my homework.  I definitely don't need to worry about what I will wear, Valpo has taken care of that.

Lunch Ladies

Lunch Ladies are wonderful people.  Especially at Valpo.  We have some of the most wonderful Lunch Ladies I have ever met.  Madonna, both Marianne's, Gail, Linda, Marie, Lydia just to name a few.  These wonderful ladies act as stand ins for moms and grandmas, aunts and sisters.  When my family is too far away I know I will be able to count on the Lunch Ladies to brighten my day.

I first stared to connect with the Lunch Ladies freshman year.  Everyday when I went through the line to buy my meal, I would have a three second interaction with them.  Usually it was just handing over my meal card to pay and then getting it back.  It took me about a month or so to even realize that their names were on their stations, given that the names were on  the screen that only they could see, but the names were there nonetheless.

There were three ladies who I really remember from my freshman year.  One was Lydia.  She walked with a limp, always worked the middle register and absolutely loved the swimmers.  One of the older swimmers introduced me to her, and we became fast friends.  I knew her by name, and she knew me.  We would talk during our three second interactions and it would brighten my day.

Marie was another fantastic woman.  She worked in the kitchen part of the cafeteria and was the one who passed food to us.  She called everyone baby or honey and always had a smile.  Once I found out her name we started playing a game.  One of us would tell the other to "Have a Good Day" and the other would respond with "You Have a Better One".  That in itself would make the day better.

Another lady was Madonna.  Madonna is one of my favorites but when I first met her she always looked so unhappy at work, so one day I decided to try and make her smile.  I noticed that she wore these really cute pink glasses, so that day I mentioned it to her.  She immediately brightened up, I even got a smile!  Ever since then we have gotten along really well.  She gives me a hug when she's not behind the register and sometimes tells me stories about her kids and grand-kids if the line isn't too long.

As my years at Valpo have passed, Lunch Ladies change jobs, or change shifts.  Some have moved on to other locations and new ones have come in.  I have had great interactions with all the ladies who work in the Cafeteria at Valpo.  One lady had half a bottle of swimmer specific shampoo from back when her daughter swam which she passed on to me, and another put me in contact with a friend of hers to help me find a job.  A few have even come to watch a swim meet on their day off.

Anyway, the reason I bring up these wonderful ladies today is that they really truly care about us students.  Last week I was really struggling with the end of swim season that is approaching.  I came into the cafeteria to get breakfast and it was clear that I had been crying.  Gail rang up my meal, but Marianne saw me looking upset.  Later that week Madonna asked me how I was doing.  I explained to her that I was sad about the season ending soon.  Today, Marianne asked me how I was doing, she was really worried about me when she saw me upset.

I so appreciate the caring and the support that the Lunch Ladies at Valpo provide.  I think they are often underrated and under-appreciated but I for one love them and am so happy that they show up everyday to take care of us.