My first few weeks of going to LSU didn’t meet my expectations. Before college, I thought that I was going to meet a ton of new people from my dorm and my classes and make so many great friends! I was going to avoid that freshman 15 and stay in shape even though my high school swim career was over. I was going to love every minute of college!
Everyone says that these are the greatest years of your life, right?
Well, that wasn’t exactly the case for the first few weeks. Don’t get me wrong, I loved LSU, but something was missing. I wasn’t meeting people like I had anticipated and trying to stay in shape was definitely a challenge. For the most part, I missed my old swim team. I loved the sport and missed the camaraderie the most. It was this longing for a team that compelled me to look into the club sports at LSU.
At first, I was hoping that there was a club swim team that I could join, since swimming was really the only sport I was good at. However, there was no such team, and I had to look at other options. Basically, I stumbled across the rowing website in my search for a club and thought it sounded like a lot of fun.
I love being in, around and on the water so I thought that I would give it a shot. I made sure to attend the organization fair at LSU’s URec and found the LSU Rowing booth to put my name on the email list.
Before I knew it, I was at the dock for the first day of Learn to Reaux, nervous but excited. I had absolutely no idea what to expect. The current members of the team showed us the proper techniques to erg and quickly went over general rowing terms like starboard, port and “wayenough.” There were so many terms and new ideas being thrown at me that I was overwhelmed at first. Eventually, I was standing next to five seat in the Sting being told to step in the boat. The feeling of being on the water in a rowing shell for the first time was completely exhilarating.
The thought of gliding over the water for that first time still gives me chills. The first time taking a stroke, however, was the most awkward thing I had ever done. I couldn’t get my oar out of the water; I slammed my fingers on the gunwale, and could not get the motion of rowing down at all. It was a bit frustrating at first but varsity members kept tell me that it would get much better and that it just takes practice. Luckily, I believed them and made sure to set my alarm for practice on Monday morning.
That sunrise over the lakes was the first of many, many more to come.
When I came to LSU in the fall of 2010, I never thought that the words “wayenough”, erg and regatta would become a regular part of my vocabulary. If you had told me that I was going to be waking up every morning at 5:33am, I would have told you that you were insane. If you had told me that I was going to be a captain of a college club team, I would never have believed you. I would not give up a single moment of my time spent as a member of LSU Rowing. There are so many wonderful memories I have from this club: that first sunrise, my first race, the first medal my boat won, the first time I realized that I was not only surrounded by my teammates, but my friends, and countless other moments that I couldn’t even begin to describe.
Through rowing, I learned what it truly means to work hard and persevere. I saw the progress in my erging and rowing. I learned what it really meant to be a part of a team and how to be a leader.
Joining the LSU Rowing Club has by far been the decision I’ve made since coming to college and is an experience that I will never forget!
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| (Pictured from left to right: Allie Petit, Erin Petersen, Liz McGehee, Mikael Estis) |
Erin Petersen
19-year-old French and International Studies Junior
Captain- Varsity Women
19-year-old French and International Studies Junior
Captain- Varsity Women
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