Several hours has gone by, we leave the place we had just spent hours of enjoyment, our bones stiff from the cool fall air. The heat turns on in the Jeep as we begin our journey home. As the Ford on our left pushes ahead I notice the undercarriage above the tires could use a wash or three. We take a moment, which seemed to last for most of our drive, to reminisce over today's experience. We had just watched Stony Brook's homecoming game and celebrated 'Wolfstock,' a first for me.
This was my first time ever actually seeing the Stony Brook Campus, being a student attending St Joseph's College- Long Island, I had never seen such a massive campus or experienced the culture around one. Driving up Nicolls road and seeing, for the first time, the Stony Brook Hospital. I was amazed mostly because of how massive it was, and that it appeared to be on large stilts, it was quite a sight. Then as we made a left into the area where the football field was located, I was surprised by just how large the campus was. They have their own hotel, a radio tower, and all of the different buildings we passed along the way, it was quite a lot to take in. Remember, I attend a college that has three parking lots and three buildings, this is obviously a shock to me.
The two people I went with are like family to me, they are my next door neighbors, I've known them my whole life. Jamie, the sister, is now Stony Brook Alumni. She had gotten us tickets for Wolfstock and we were able to enjoy the alumni section a few hours before the game began. There was free food which was added into our ticket prices; all around it was a nice, friendly experience. We ate and enjoyed the music around us. Then the game began and we found our seat just in front of a wonderful group of people. They had a great sense of humor; they had made a banner that said something to the effect of "The RI coach has UTI" which I thought was hilarious. Stony Brook was going against Rhode Island and the game was hard fought until the last quarter, when Stony Brook had pulled ahead to win 14-3. The Marching Band had performed wonderfully at halftime and kept cheering on the Seawolves on first downs throughout the game.
For me, it was an odd but pleasant experience. When I was in high school I was on both the Marching Band and the Football team, so it was odd being on the other side of a game. Spectating, while it was lovely, just made me feel old. I missed being in the game or with the band playing classic pop music. The people around us were kind too, they were all close to each other, like the way I am close with my track team. It was cool being on the observing end of that, it made me realize just how much my college friends mean to me.
At the end of the night, on the walk back to our Jeep, we passed the track field and the throwing circles. It was beautiful and I became very jealous that they had such a fancy throwing complex. I had ended up having such a nice experience that I was debating on transferring over to Stony Brook. Of course I would never do that because that would mean leaving my team, but it really is a beautiful campus with a nice group of students.
Looking back now, a day later, going to Stony Brook made me appreciate what I have around me. I love St Joseph's College; it may be small in comparison, but I prefer it. I get to speak with my professors and know that they recognize who I am. I get to see people around campus and know their name, even if I have never had a class with them. I also get to see my team every day; we are so close, they make you feel important even though you know you're just a small part of a big world. I wouldn't trade that for anything.
