I’m covered in welts and limping like a wounded puppy, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

This past Saturday morning, 13 of us from the journalism department went and beat the crap out of each other at Fly’n Colors Paintball between Charleston and Mattoon. The group included 11 students, along with professors Brian Poulter and Joe Gisondi.

I can honestly say it was one of the best times I’ve had doing anything in a long time.

I had never played paintball before, and was a little nervous. But being the tomboy I am, I threw myself into the woods and mud with as much enthusiasm as I could come up with.

Our team was excited when we heard there was a group from University of Illinois coming up as well. All week, we had discussed tactics and gear in preparation for the game.

After getting a few practice rounds in, the U of I group showed up. We were eager to show them how competitive we are, and we sure did.

After teaming up with a couple of Marine and Navy guys who were out there as well, we absolutely decimated U of I.

It felt pretty good, I’m not gonna lie. But even more rewarding was how quickly we bonded as a team.

Sure, we all work together every day in the newsroom and we laugh with each other and yell at each other five days a week.

However, this was a completely different setting. It was the bond that we already had as a student publications team that gave us the skills to work together so well, even in something like paintball.

So it sounds cheesy and cliché, but I know it was our bond we already had as a team (partnered with mad skills, of course) that enabled us to overtake the students from U of I.

I noticed how the other team tended to separate when they got in the woods and didn’t necessarily use smaller groups to overtake their enemies. But after our group heard the “GO!” signal, we either paired up or got into groups of three.

I know when Shea Lazansky, Professor Gisondi and myself continued to inch up on the enemy lines, we were unstoppable. And for someone who’s never played paintball, that’s a pretty cool feeling.

Plus, how often do you get to say “yeah, I shot my professors over the weekend”?

Robyn Dexter is a junior journalism major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].