Not all Medals are made of Metal An icy and bitter mist surrounded me. The sun had secreted behind piles of looming clouds, while droplets of water dispensed from the sky. The track bore a vast expanse of puddles, and runners plunged their way through them. I was sitting in the dewy grass underneath the canopy of our tent. Rain trickled down the stadium steps as I heard the booming announcer eagerly bellow, “Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the 2016 State Track and Field Meet.”
My heart began to beat like a hammer pounding upon a solid bed of concrete. However, I was calmed by a sense of nostalgia as I remembered running through a familiar driving rain on my home track; the track where I had spent hours training; hours that had prepared me for the next two upcoming days.
Fellow teammates surrounded me as we discussed the teams’ latest statistics, injuries, and events. Soon realization hit, I grasped that within the next three hours I would be running with the most elite group of sprinters in all of Idaho. Districts had …show more content…
. .
My name sounded over the speakers and I stepped up onto the podium. A medal engraved with sixth place was handed to me. Pride filled my being as I stood facing the stadiums. Mingled throughout the audience I could see my family who had supported me, friends who had laughed and trained with me, and coaches who dedicated their time to teach me.
Although I did not place a personal best, or become a state champion, I learned knowledge worth more than any athletic title or achievement I could have won at state. I realized that circumstances don’t define moments, but how you perceive them will. I placed sixth at that track and field meet, but that sixth place medal did not hold the most valuable honors of track season. The true victories were those that came from persistence, hard work, and teamwork.
When I returned home, I placed the medal on my dresser where it stays as a humble reminder that the real medals in life aren’t always made of
My heart began to beat like a hammer pounding upon a solid bed of concrete. However, I was calmed by a sense of nostalgia as I remembered running through a familiar driving rain on my home track; the track where I had spent hours training; hours that had prepared me for the next two upcoming days.
Fellow teammates surrounded me as we discussed the teams’ latest statistics, injuries, and events. Soon realization hit, I grasped that within the next three hours I would be running with the most elite group of sprinters in all of Idaho. Districts had …show more content…
. .
My name sounded over the speakers and I stepped up onto the podium. A medal engraved with sixth place was handed to me. Pride filled my being as I stood facing the stadiums. Mingled throughout the audience I could see my family who had supported me, friends who had laughed and trained with me, and coaches who dedicated their time to teach me.
Although I did not place a personal best, or become a state champion, I learned knowledge worth more than any athletic title or achievement I could have won at state. I realized that circumstances don’t define moments, but how you perceive them will. I placed sixth at that track and field meet, but that sixth place medal did not hold the most valuable honors of track season. The true victories were those that came from persistence, hard work, and teamwork.
When I returned home, I placed the medal on my dresser where it stays as a humble reminder that the real medals in life aren’t always made of