Bday with the Besties

Tuesday, May 3rd, was my birthday: turned the big two zero. Yes, believe it, I made it through those teenage years. As every college student comes to realize sooner or later, spending a birthday away from your family can be tough- missing the overwhelming love and birthday dinner traditions. (I heard Annie’s family even shoves a little cake in her face on her birthday every year.) However, being able to spend this day with my team, who has undoubtedly become my second family/best friends made it an extra special one. Celebrating with this group of girls was more than I could’ve asked for.
On the day of my birthday, I walked into the locker room to see my locker decorated with streamers and stuffed full of balloons, not to mention my picture of dreamy Ricky Rubio was even touched up with a little graffiti. After practice, the entire team took me to my favorite restaurant in Hanover, yummy Yama, and then we headed to the Collis porch for a little Lou’s chocolate cake and some public birthday singing. Maddy’s makeshift candles constructed out of wooden coffee stirrers made for some extra excitement. To remember this day, I will always have my birthday card that has Coach Hirsch’s (aka Mayo’s) birthday rap recorded inside.
Having my teammates do all these memorable things for me on my birthday made me realize that sometimes I take the Dartmouth Volleyball team dynamic for granted. I could not name another team on campus that is as close as our team. Maybe it is due to the fact that there are only nine of us, or maybe it is due to the forced, close proximity in our van rides to spring games, or maybe even our unified goal to PTD on the reg (aka regular). Whatever it is has created irreplaceable friendships and bonds that I treasure. Everyday, I look forward to the locker room dancing, the trash talking through the net and the (not always) friendly competitions in the weight room just as much as I look forward to the life updates over impromptu Collis dinners, the team blitzes of whatever youtube video is making Vivian laugh at the time, the continuous facebook pokes from Kendall, and the occasional texts from Annie asking me to do little favors for her “on my way to the weight room” (which are really starting to add up). All these little nuances, on and off the court, make our team dynamic so special. We know each other so well that it can get a little creepy at times. Occasionally, outsiders even question the way we interact sometimes.
All in all, I want to say thanks to the team for making my 20th birthday a memorable one, but more importantly thanks for being my teammates and best friends. Like Drizzy Drake says, “Man I love my team and I love my team. I would PTDie for them …”

- Alissa Santa Maria '13