I’ve played volleyball for about eleven years and even though I’m not playing as frequently as I used to, I still have a deep emotional tie to the sport. When I was in high school, playing college volleyball was a dream and a testament to my playing ability. For two years I was unhappy and for a long while, all I saw was a price tag over my head. That is, the one I received when I signed on to the team and received scholarship my freshman year of college. Since then I’ve realized that the idea of a thing sometimes sounds better than the thing itself.

Playing Quidditch almost started off as a joke. College volleyball wasn’t what I anticipated and neither was the coach I was playing for. I was left feeling frustrated and directionless. But if I hadn’t played, I wouldn’t have learned nearly as much about myself and others than most my age do and for that, I’m grateful. Even though college athletics are called “sports,” they’re more like a job in reality.

Yes, I said Quidditch. Yes, the fictional sport from Harry Potter. Guess what? It’s real. In case you don’t know what Quidditch is, here’s a clip of Loyola playing against Lone Star in 2015:

Around the end of my sophomore year of college, I was venting to one of my Quidditch friends about my experience with volleyball, and he kept telling me over and over again to “join Quidditch.” Given the circumstances, it would have been impossible to play. I had tried to play paintball and that was apparently too physical.

I didn’t tell him no, but I did tell him that there was ever a day I decided to stop playing for Loyola, I would join. I’m sure he thought it was a joke, but I wasn't joking.

There were only a few months left of school, but once I quit volleyball, I came to the first Sunday practice I could. We ran two miles that day and I remember thinking that it was much harder than our school gives it credit for… and far funner.

I’ve never liked running but this is the sport I’ve made an exception for. I’m slowly beginning to love this sport and it’s not because we run with PVC pipe between our legs, but because of the people I’m playing with. They’re so full of life. They’re so full of passion. They know when to have fun but they also know when to be serious. They’re athletic nerds with sticks. It may be fictional, but they take it seriously and they dedicate their most precious resource—time—to play it.

I’m still a newbie and I still trip over myself and my broom, but for the first time, I’m having a good time (as long as I’m not hit with a bludger).

Let’s just hope I don’t get tackled too hard.