Sunday, June 5, 2011

Christy Robinson: Looking back...


The following is a blog written by Christy Robinson, a freshmen post player from Rocky Face, Georgia as she talks about her first year here at Samford!


"Looking back on my first year at Samford, it is hard to believe that it is already over.  The past few months have flown by, but not without some wonderful memories.  Of course, winning the Southern Conference Championship and raising that trophy tops the list, but the little things that I can look back on and laugh at mean just as much.

Moments in practice where people would fall for no reason, locking people in the bathroom on the bus during roadtrips, singing “Firework” at the top of our lungs before games, and doing the “dougie” after are memories that a group of thirteen girls all share.  These moments mean just as much to me as a ring on my finger.  The bond that held our team together is more than just a group of teammates or friends.  The twelve other girls on the team are like the sisters that I never had. I thank God every day for giving me the opportunity to be around such great, talented people here at Samford.  I know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

For almost all students, freshman year in college is exciting but yet an overwhelming experience.  I lived under my parents’ roof for eighteen years of my life and then all of a sudden I am just turned loose?  Fortunately, I learned that I am a very independent person, and I really did not suffer through homesickness.  Granted, living with three other awesome girls made living on my own much easier. Together we went through the tough transition into college life and experienced great success.  I made it through the dreadful CP (Cultural Perspectives) and CA (Communication Arts) classes, finally was 100 percent sure I wanted to be a nursing major, and learned how to manage a schedule that started from the moment I woke up to when I laid down at night.  As Shelby (Shelby, Campbell, my roommate and point guard out of Murfreesboro, TN) and I packed up our room to leave, it was sort of bittersweet to see our room in Pittman Hall so bare.  My freshman year was everything that I wanted it to be and more, but I know only greater things lay ahead.

      On a sad note, parts of Alabama were devastated by tornados towards the end of the school year.  Samford was truly blessed as it was spared from damage, but only fifteen minutes away, parts of Birmingham were devastated.  A student-led ministry, RANSOM (Radical Athlete and Student Oasis Ministry), took a group out to Pratt City to help out in the relief efforts.  A few of my fellow teammates and I have volunteered with this group several times where we served at the Scott School by unloading trucks, organizing clothing, and assisting victims as they collected supplies they needed.  I heard a reporter ask one woman if she was afraid.  Without hesitation she answered, “No, I have no fear at all.  I am alive and have my faith, and I know the Lord will help us through this.”  This attitude is carried over into the actual neighborhoods where volunteers are constantly working to remove trees from houses and clean up debris.  We spent one Saturday volunteering with the group Operation Blessing.  We were able to go into one of the destroyed neighborhoods in Pratt City and work on clearing yards.  As a group of us were leaving, we stood on top of a hill and looked out over at what used to be an apartment complex. What lies there now does not look like anything I would ever imagine to be in America, let alone fifteen minutes away from where I live. The pictures on the internet and television do not compare to the sensation of seeing it with your own eyes.  Seeing devastation like this will make you completely humble and reminds us that God gives and God takes away.  We continue to praise Him and know that Alabama will be stronger as a result of this."