Return to Wildcat Country

I had my headphones in and was gently tapped on the shoulder by the conductor.

“This is Durham.”

It was almost as if he was welcoming me back to a place I had called home for four years. I stepped off the train and walked up the stairs. I immediately recognized the field hockey field before me and the Whittemore Center. I had arrived.

I strolled by New Hampshire Hall, the place I took many classes for my Sport Studies major. I couldn’t help but have a smile on my face. 

Much was the same aside from a few downtown Durham restaurants/shops being different, but I was able to find my way around just fine. I thought back to my freshman and sophomore years when I walked by Gibbs Hall, a place I bunked in for two years. 

Many thoughts entered my mind as I weaved through Wildcat Country and saw the students, saw what I think was a group touring the college. I was once in their place. They are in what is really a different world, one where you live near a bunch of friends and have so much access to opportunities right at your fingertips. Things get a bit more complicated after graduation.

“Have you dined with us before?” I got asked when purchasing dinner (actually I made the lunch price by just a few minutes but got dinner food) at Holloway Commons, affectionately called “HoCo.” I almost laughed at the question. Of course, the man didn’t know I was a student there years ago.

I got to the Whittemore Center for the men’s hockey game vs. UMass Lowell and felt at home again. I had spent many early mornings there doing stadium stairs for rowing, nights at hockey games. 

The UNH students had a new chant or “hex”  to the opposing goalie I hadn’t heard before when I went there but I enjoyed it. It went something like this: “He’s nervous, he’s shaking in his skates. He’s gonna let one in eventually. He’s already let up one!” 

When the clock read 0, UNH had pulled out a nail-biting 1-0 first round Hockey East playoff win and the two teams shook hands. The Wildcats saluted the crowd at center ice and proceeded to skate over to the student section as a dejected UMass Lowell team, who scored 0 goals in three games vs. the ‘cats over this past week, exited the ice. The players of UNH leaped against the glass to thank the students for showing up and celebrate the big win. 

As I made my way to the train this morning, “100 years” by Five for Fighting played in my ears. “I’m 22 for a moment” really hit me in that moment as I jaunted down the street I had traversed so much in college. 

I sit on the train with a full heart as I travel back from a trip to a place I hadn’t seen in several years. Sometimes, in order to go forward, you need to look back at where you came from. 

Hopefully I’ll be back sooner than the 6 years it was last time.