Our next two friends to be featured are Greta and Evan. Greta is in her fourth year of the Physical & Health Education, while Evan is currently in his third year of Commerce. Currently, they are both on the Queen’s Varsity Rowing Team. Greta has been a varsity athlete since her first year at Queen’s, while Evan got involved with rowing through the TID program in his first year.
You could say the story of their friendship will really ‘catch’ your attention.
Initially, the pair got to know each other through rowing, as you tend to connect with the people who attend the same 5am practices as you do. Evan says that they were probably aware of each other for quite some time before they actually spoke, as he definitely remembers knowing who Greta was, since she was on the varsity team while he was still learning how to row.
In the fall, the university on-water rowing season typically lasts until late October to early November – whenever the weather starts to get too cold. However, not being able to go out on the water doesn’t mean the hard work stops! While it’s cold and icy outside, the Queen’s Rowing athletes will be breaking a sweat during winter training in the erg room (erg = rowing machine).
In fact, it is in the erg room that Evan remembers first talking to Greta. He recalls walking in and seeing her pulling a piece (doing a workout) on the erg.
Evan: “Yeah, Greta was just grinding away. I asked her ‘How many hours do you do this every day?’”
Although he didn’t remember exactly what she answered, he remembers his response.
Evan: “I said ‘Whoa, that’s intense af.’”
Greta also remembers being impressed by the times Evan was pulling during his workouts.
The two agree that by the end of last summer, they’d truly become friends. Over the summer, they would often take bike rides together and felt like they were able to bond during non-rowing related activities.
Surprisingly, based on their friendship today, the first impression that Evan made on Greta was not the best.
Greta: “I don’t think Evan really wants to hear [my first impression of him].” *laughs*
Evan: “Oh, really?”
Greta saw him in the team training room as the men’s team was starting a 20 minute piece on the erg, which Evan started one minute late because he had been standing up. (Typically, the entire team will start and finish a timed piece together.)
Greta: “If we’re being completely honest, [his first impression] was not the best… I remember thinking ‘What the heck is he doing?’”
On the other hand, Evan’s impression of Greta was much more positive.
Evan: “I just thought Greta was intense as heck… Every single time I went to the erg room, she’d already have been in there for like an hour, so I just kind of assumed she was there all the time.”
*Greta laughs*
Greta: “Even though I’d probably only been there for like 10 minutes.”
Regardless of this rocky start, the two still managed to become friends.
Greta: “Evan is one of those people that grows on you.”
*they both laugh*
In their free time, Evan and Greta enjoy watching movies together.
Evan: “[We] fall asleep halfway through watching a Netflix movie that we argued about picking for 30 minutes.”
Greta: “We also go to the pier and swim or go eat tons of good food together. The best was making homemade pizzas at Michael’s [rowing teammate] house.”
Evan: “Our most memorable Netflix movie so far has definitely been the ‘eggplant movie,’ aka The Package.”
Greta: “It was memorable for sure. But not necessarily in a good way. Don’t put yourself through that…it’s more weird than funny.”
*they laugh*
(If you haven't seen The Package, check out the trailer here.)
Nevertheless, their friendship has also been through some rough water. While Greta and Evan worked together this past summer, their different approaches to situations occasionally caused some conflict. They managed to work it out by communicating well and thus, resolved these issues quite well.
Greta: “I think it helps that we have high amounts of respect for each other.”
Evan: “We just have different ways of doing things.”
*Greta laughs*
Evan: “Greta is slower to make decisions because she’s a lot more cautious than me, while I’m a lot more ‘Let’s just do it!’ Sometimes that caused some issues.’”
Overall, Evan appreciates how Greta is a very supportive friend. While Evan was recovering from an injury this summer and occasionally got down on himself, Greta was there to cheer him up.
Evan: “I was dealing with a really long injury and was frequently frustrated and annoyed…but Greta put up with me and constantly tried to turn my mood around all summer, which was very helpful for my mental health.”
In a similar sense, Greta really values how Evan has knack for seeing when people are upset and then goes out of his way to make them feel better about themselves. In terms of their differences, she admits that his ability to be decisive can also come in handy sometimes, while she admires how driven and strong-willed he is when it comes to working towards his ambitions.
Greta: “Evan knows what he wants and puts all of his eggs in one basket to achieve [his goals].”
As for the advice these two have for the readers of Human Crossing, these two have some wise words to share:
Greta: “[A good way to meet more people is] get yourself involved in something and, whatever it is, make sure you enjoy it. If someone adds value to your life and is making you a better person, keep that person around. If they don’t and they aren’t making you feel better or happier or safer at university, then don’t try and keep connecting with them. Make sure you’re very self-aware and assertive about who you want to become friends with. Recognize who the real people are who make you a better person, stay close to them, and differentiate between them and the people who only pretend to be your ‘good,’ real friends.”
Evan: “If you’re super outgoing, then you probably don’t have any trouble with making new friends. But because I’m not, I’ll tell you about my strategy that worked. In this case, I put myself in situations where it was really fricken awkward for people not to talk to me. For example, if you walk into the erg room and it’s only you and one other person from your team, not talking would be really weird. Like, despite the fact that Greta has this negative first impression of me in her head, she might actually have to talk to me.”
*Greta laughs*
If you're curious to learn more about rowing, check out Queen's Rowing's Facebook page here - they are very responsive to messages. Interested in rowing recruiting at Queen's or information about tryouts? The Queen's Rowing Team has a long-standing tradition of success as one of Canada'a top rowing schools.
- Love, Human Crossing
p.s. If you are interested in learning more about how other Queen's alumni are doing...check out our friends at The Limestone Era. (They even feature the iconic Professor D. J. McConomy!)