When the Cheshire emerges...

It happens to all of us doesn't it? At one time or another in our lives we attempt to put ourselves out there and say 'hi world, I'm here, how you doin'?' only to find it falls flat on our faces. Part of me feels like the Dubbo social experiment has failed, which has come as more of a surprise than anything else.


While I've been told I seem reserved here, my friends back home would punch you at the very suggestion. I feel I'm definitely being myself, there are just certain elements of me that have rarely seen the light of day.

Although I love a bit of solitude, I'm not a loner. And I have friends here. Just not in different groups like I used to in Adelaide.

I was always planning to join a soccer team when I moved to sort out the whole making friends issue, it was just the wrong time of year. Before I went on my trans-Tasman trip it was the right time. I sorted out who I was playing for and would resume training on my return. It was all sweet.

Then I went to my first training. While it felt really good to run around, I soon realised I was training with mostly girls 18 or under. Not exactly what I imagined being an all-ages team. We even have a 13-year-old waiting to turn 14 so she can play!

I shouldn't have been surprised - after all, I first played Premier League (reserves) soccer at 15, but not out of choice, and I had a lot of girls my age playing with me. Then I found part of it was the same for the all-ages mens side too.


But the whole thing really hit me hard. The social experiment I was counting on had largely failed me.

***

It's now over two weeks since then and there ARE some teammates that are older. I'm an optimist, so yes, there is room for change to this situation.

I may not be able to go out or share similar ideas about certain things in life with some of these girls, but I hope to really enjoy the season regardless. We did win our first game 4-3 too, which was pretty awesome.

The whole thing has shown me that making friends clearly isn't about how old they are, but that you share the same interests and enjoy each other's company. Good moral justification that one...