This lovely blog is about my experiences of first joining belegarth. As of now, I have been in it for under a month and I have had nothing but positive experiences so far. In another organization that derives on its values and sisterhood for life eventually being followed by people excluding me, being very judgmental towards me, and even deleting me off of facebook, I have seen the exact opposite in this wonderful place!
After my fair share of negative experiences in organizations and having plenty of people treat me poorly, it was time for me to start over and make some new friends. With a lot of my poetry stemming from anti conformism, anti-bullying, and having a skewed definition of family, I wanted to find “my place” where I feel like a normal person, can be myself, can meet new people, and most importantly, have fun. A dear friend of mine who knows my entire story invited me to go to “Medieval Combat Club” (belegarth) at school one a couple times during my senior year, but I was always way too busy with running a club, my classes, getting a job, and trying to graduate. As soon as I graduated from college and started working, I knew things were going to be tough…
Moving back home with my parents after graduating is one of the most painful experiences for me; if you read my poetry, you can probably tell. Not only is living with my parents a pain, but I began realizing I don’t have the greatest friends. By that, I mean I want to hang out with people who are going to be successful in the future, have direction in their lives, and make me feel like I’m someone meaningful to them. There’s a distinct difference between “having a rough time in your life” versus “never going anywhere in life”. I always love getting involved in organizations and wanted to find a group to call “home” and feel a sense of belonging. After having a long talk with this same friend, he invited me to go to another belegarth practice and make necessary accommodations for me to be able to go out of the kindness of his heart. Without hesitation, I decided to give it a shot. I figured this would be my gateway to what I’ve been looking for. Also, he always spoke very highly of everyone and the organization itself, mentioning that the people are extremely genuine and how much his unit brothers mean to him, even considering them his family. After going to my first practice, I knew my life was about to change! I had the type of experience where I was looking forward to coming back, talking highly about it constantly to my friends, and always smiling when I mention it to people!
I’m so used to being the person who’s in a leadership role or that person willing to step up and help others, and now I’m the “new kid in town”. Everyone that I met is beyond wonderful to me and words can’t describe how much I appreciate it. All of the realms are very friendly and open to newcomers (and even have loaner equipment). They make sure you understand the rules, want you to become a better fighter, and everyone has fun the entire time. The entire sport is on the honor system, meaning that you have to maintain a high level of sportsmanship and be an honorable fighter. When I reached out to the realm leaders asking for more information and where the practices are located, they kindly responded and welcomed me with open arms. They even went above and beyond to make sure I find the location of the practice, answer my numerous questions, and are always willing to help me.
Not only are these people wonderful on the field, but they are off the field as well. I can have intelligent conversations with every person I’ve talked to. They all have ambition in their lives. They are all very polite, warm, and friendly, as well as they know how to have fun. Even when I screwed up and should have taken a different train in the morning (stupid Metra and their awful train times for the line I take), they made sure I was able to find a way back to my car (which was parked about 30 minutes away where the public transportation didn’t go to that area). The thing is that I barely knew these people and they STILL did that. That truly makes a statement!
For those of you who think the people in Medieval Combat Club (belegarth) are weird and “too nerdy”, think again. Who cares if people think they are LARPing (live action role playing, which belegarth don’t really do), wearing “funny costumes”, and running around whacking each other with sticks. If you actually take the time to try it, it’s really fun. It’s not for everyone and it is a combat sport. At the same time, this group is one where the “don’t judge a book by its cover” motto comes into play. People have no right to judge people for being themselves and having fun. They don’t deserve the “weird looks” or whispers that I heard on the quad at school.
Belegarth is a wonderful organization and I encourage anyone to join! When you step inside something new and outside your comfort zone instead of being judgmental and narrow minded, you will get the respect you deserve. Being a newbie isn’t a big deal because everyone is out there to help you. I am very thankful to have been introduced to belegarth and I had a very positive experience at my first event! If you have no idea what belegarth even is, be sure to check out www.belegarth.com!
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