Part of the group.

For the past three years I have been on the rarely known McFarland High School ski team. My freshman and sophomore years I only practiced with a few kids that I knew. I remember seeing big groups of kids at the races who were also on other, bigger teams as well as their high school teams, like Cascade and Tyrol. This year I joined the Cascade Ski Team along with doing my high school team. By the end of the season we were like a big famliy. We had spent weekends away with each other and numerous practices together. I think the fact that it was also so very chilly and we had to huddle may have made us a little closer. But being an "outsider" for two years and then finally feeling like part of the team really made me feel like I was part of the group: an "insider". I would consider a lot of the kids on the team some of my closer friends becase we have a common interest that we all love and we spent so much time together. None of them go to my school but when I do see them a sense of belonging comes in play.