Hello teammates and friends of the team,

As you all know, tomorrow night at 11pm we are convening to play in what may be our last broomball game of our pre-college graduation lives. Many of you may be thinking the question that plagues the human condition, "so what?"

For as long as anyone could recall, Broomball is a tradition that is in the hearts of many around the world. In the East Coast, it is so intense there that intramural teams have ferocious players recruited from the remote parts of Russia and the North Pole.

Then in 2005, our teammate Karen Douglas had the brilliance and foresight to bring this amazing sport into our home turf. Little did she know, what began as a nice event for an 18th birthday party escalated into something greater and beyond all of us. I like to think it was the way the moon aligned with the stars, but whatever it was, our lives were forever changed on that fateful night. Could any of us have foreshadowed what was to come? I think not. But the fact of the matter was, we became more than sons and daughters, more than students, more than typical faces of American suburbia....we became teammates of one of the greatest movements ever to grace the Norwalk Ice Arena and the world.

I am writing to commend you all for your great work you have contributed in blood, sweat, and tears for the cause of our team. During our college careers, we have fought hard through and through. Though there were bouts of anger and tears from heartbreak, there were also times of elation and joy, as our team came together. Together, came through with two beautiful wins that were recorded in the books as some of the most epic battles of our time. Amazing.

As this will be the 5th and perhaps last broomball game, it is also coincidentally the tiebreaker. That being said, the importance of tomorrow night's game is incredible beyond words. How do we want to be remembered in history? The choice is up to us. Every time we have put nothing but our best, and I am so proud of each of you for that. But sometimes, our best is not good enough. Tomorrow night, we must bring more than our best, and several of us have taken an initiative to ensure that, and I will now share with you. As a passionate believer of our team, I will be asking for several things for tomorrow night, with the most imperative being trust.

Trust that your offensive/defensive strategists have the best interests of the team in them, and trust that the strategy and placements we have drafted will lead the team to victory. We analyzed each of your strengths have given each of you a special role on the team.

Trust that your spirit coordinator and HR senior analysts (Becky & Karen) have a plan to keep our morale high. As so many great teams in the past have fallen due to low spirits and lack of unity within the team, we are so lucky to have these two lead us.

Tomorrow night, I am asking you to trust, learn quickly, and execute. It doesn't matter whether you are a player or a supporter from the side. Together, we can create a story that will be told for generations to come.

Tomorrow night, let us make history.

Always,
Teresa

***COME 25 MINUTES EARLY, as there will be a pre-game team meeting with motivational speeches, cheers, and a covering of the strategy we will be using.
***WEAR BLACK, as much black as you can, for team solidarity. Of course, dress warmly too.
***EAT PASTA
***PASS THIS ON to other people who will be on our team that aren't on this mailing list.

Welcome 2008!

It's the new year, and with it comes new beginnings. For me, I can honestly say that 2007 felt like passed in a heartbeat. I still remember sitting in the damp dorm room back in Singapore, the step by step events (the pit stop at NTUC, the crowded MRT ride, the wine in a can, the foam, everything) that happened on new year's night, and a whole lot of everything else that happened in the early half of last year. Of course, like a true asian tourist I have ample photos to help me with that. Still with my memory of that night this clear, it has been hard for me to believe that over 365 days have passed since then. Wow.

I remembered thinking last year around this time that it was going to be a good year. It was just this feeling I had. It was a feeling of excitement of what was to come, since there was this vast area that needed to be explored, interesting people to meet and learn from, and new memories to be made. The exact aforementioned was what happened, and maybe that was what made the latter half difficult. Difficult in the sense that I was questioning the traditions and practices that I had thought were the norm in any college life. Does this even make sense? The feeling could be described as for a brief second, I was exposed to another way my life could be. Not better, not worse, but just another way. And then here I feel like the whole world around me is like no, you're life should be like this, this is what you've wanted all along, it's the trajectory.

In 2007 I learned that promises can be broken from the most unlikely people. People who promise to write (myself included), don't and drift away. Love is gained, love is lost. Forever, sadly, doesn't always mean forever. Friends can deceive you, and surprise you with actions that hurt. Sometimes, it turns out that the mark you made on people is really not that much, and after awhile, life goes on.

But in 2007 I also learned that love doesn't have to be lost because of distance, that I can disappear for 6 months and still come home to people who have made this place home, that amazing friendships can continue after they are transplanted from one side of the ocean to another, and most importantly, that the workings of human have made it possible to create room for new relationships to grow. And all these are very comforting to know.

That being said, I think that 2008 will be a blast. I don't think it will be easy, and I can predict much confusion, frustration, and apprehension when push comes to shove and I am forced to make amends with my aspirations and reality. Actually, I think it will be a difficult year, but whoever said difficult can't be fun and an exciting ride?