I began my first year of high school a tiny, easily overlooked girl with maybe two friends on a good day and almost no hobbies. My routine of attending school, going home, doing my work, and going to sleep simply wasn’t cutting it. With the reaction time close to that of a garden slug and the coordination of a newborn giraffe, it was clear to me that taking up a sport would only end in my own mortification and probable injury. However, after a bit of research, I found the perfect option: cross country. No contact, complicated game plans, or heavy equipment required. Just a bit of running. How hard could it be? With this mentality I approached my first run with the team. This “easy recovery” run proved to be anything but easy. I watched my new
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Through the pain and suffering that we force ourselves into, we all learn a common language founded upon numbers. There is a mutual reverence that each runner has for one another, whether it be a 5 minute miler or a 9. We are all working towards the same goal, and would not be able to reach it without each other. No athletes on any other team sport bond as closely as runners do. Through blood, sweat, and tears, we melt into one massive, diverse family. My team gives me a reason to lift my feet quicker and higher even when I feel gravity and my own negativity pulling me down. I have gained a sense of responsibility; that this sport is not just about my race and my own times, but about the team and scores as a whole, and no matter how much I want to stop and end the pain, I must keep going for my team. This sport has helped me to find my niche and has left me surrounded by people who have become closer than family. Today, I am a very different person than that quiet little girl that struggled through simple 30 minute runs, and I have loved every second of the path that lead me here. Running is so much more than a sport; it is a way of life that I have come to fully
Through the pain and suffering that we force ourselves into, we all learn a common language founded upon numbers. There is a mutual reverence that each runner has for one another, whether it be a 5 minute miler or a 9. We are all working towards the same goal, and would not be able to reach it without each other. No athletes on any other team sport bond as closely as runners do. Through blood, sweat, and tears, we melt into one massive, diverse family. My team gives me a reason to lift my feet quicker and higher even when I feel gravity and my own negativity pulling me down. I have gained a sense of responsibility; that this sport is not just about my race and my own times, but about the team and scores as a whole, and no matter how much I want to stop and end the pain, I must keep going for my team. This sport has helped me to find my niche and has left me surrounded by people who have become closer than family. Today, I am a very different person than that quiet little girl that struggled through simple 30 minute runs, and I have loved every second of the path that lead me here. Running is so much more than a sport; it is a way of life that I have come to fully