On Friday night, I ventured out to Citizen’s Bank Park to watch the Philadelphia Phillies take on the New York Mets. I hadn’t been to a baseball game since Bryn Mawr Activities took a large group last year, and I remember going when Activities took a large group in my first year. It was fun to reflect on the similarities and differences of each of my Phillies game experiences.

My friend Devica, a former Banter Blogger, is a huge Phillies fan, and I’ve gone with her to a game every year. She’s the one who organized this trip! The rest of our group included my tennis teammate Mariam Haider ’18, and also Zhoe Rub’18. Our seats were located in the second row in the Bleacher section, and we were surrounded by other college students — I’m not used to such good seats!

Though I’d been to Citizen’s Bank Park twice before, I hadn’t explored the stadium that much. A small bucket list goal of mine is to visit each professional baseball stadium in the country and Canada. If you have or had a similar bucket list goal, please post your travel recommendations in the comments below!

The summer before our first year, Devica and I started talking online (Twitter, specifically). In the incoming students Facebook group, we both found that we enjoyed following sports (Devica follows Philly teams, I follow San Francisco teams.) That’s continued over our years here, and still connects us.

It’s interesting how baseball, and sports in general, has the power to connect us. Baseball is a sport that has connected me and my parents, me and my brother, me and family members, and me and other Mawrters. For example, my dad coached my softball teams; I played baseball with my brother for a few years; I used to watch Giants games with my grandfather; and in October of my first year of college, Baseball helped me acclimate to Bryn Mawr. I wanted to watch the playoffs and World Series (the Giants were good that year!), and planned on watching them alone. However, I remember walking into the Pembroke East TV room and finding my Peer Mentor and her friend from my hall on the second floor there setting up a playoff game on the TV. They were both from the Bay Area too, and were also wearing their Giants gear. Then, we watched each following game together, with others joining as well. It was a surprise to see so many Giants and baseball fans, and it reminded me of home; it was welcoming.

Yes, the Phillies won on Friday (beating the Mets 7-4!), but this game was more for the soul. It was fun to explore the stadium with friends, see other college students from the area, and reflect on the role of baseball in my life and college years.