By: Sam Bakkila

Campus Rec has been asking all of its visitors why they play.

I’ve been thinking about this question a lot myself. I play for many different reasons, but I think my deepest answer is that playing allows me to be a total beginner. Rarely as an adult do you have an invitation to fail spectacularly at something that you’ve never tried before. Giving yourself time to play and cultivating a spirit of playfulness helps remind you to take risks, to not fear failure, and to be ready to pick yourself back up when you do inevitably fall.

The next new way to play that I want to try out is Intramural Battleship, which will be offered for the first time ever at Campus Rec in early December. In this fun enactment of the classic board game, teams paddle around in canoes and use buckets to splash other teams until their boats take on water and sink.

Playing a new game or sport breaks a lot of bad habits that hold people back and create unnecessary stress. You can’t be shy, you must learn to work as a team, and you absolutely have to be able to laugh at yourself!

This is our featured member Jonathan, his story, and his reason to play:

Want to share the reason why you play with Campus Rec? We’ll be making more videos and sharing member stories all year. Submit your story here!