I find myself in the convenient situation that if I end up being lost in the middle of Africa, Asia, any of the Americas or Oceania and I would know at least one person I could call to get a ride back to society (I can’t do anything about the poles, those are way too far away, but oh well).

This incredible survival tool that I will probably never need has been achieved thanks to volleyball, and the many different people it has allowed me to meet. It all started with one day trips to bigger cities back home in Argentina for tournaments, then to different states, then different countries for a week and ultimately it allowed me to move across the globe to go to college and, oh yeah, play volleyball. Funny thing is, as I talk to many of those people, they all lived very similar experiences to mine.

I can’t even begin to describe the feeling of knowing that without playing the sport I love the most I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet some of the most wonderful people in my life, not to mention how much I got to bond with my teammates during those trips and the memories it created. Not only I got closer with the people around me but every time I stepped into a new town I walked out with a new friend who probably lived 10 hours away from me, but that was okay, because we knew volleyball brought us together, so it will make us cross our paths again.

With around eight years of traveling around, my last destination has been Evansville, IN, and even though I met a wonderful bunch of people here, it was the first time I could not be in the company of the people who have been in my life for the longest time: my family. It is not a secret that moving away from home is a huge step, and depending the person, that step can be really hard, and for the first time volleyball not only helped me make new friends, but it took me away from most of them too.

Again, everything was okay: phone calls and texts had the sport I love as a topic at the beginning and then the conversation flowed to everything and anything. I feel closer to some people now than when I lived in the same country as them, and I still get to live in the moment, and not regret anything.

It is clear to me that I got to see places, live experiences and meet people thanks to volleyball that I wouldn’t have otherwise. All of those shaped me into the person I am today, and now for me a 10-minute drive of a 22-hours flight will not keep me apart from the people I love. My story is not unique, is just another one, but if you ever step a foot into a gym or field and talk to any athlete, I’m pretty sure their stories will have a similar ending.