Cross Country

I once felt that senior year would never arrive. I knew that it must at some point but, time seemed to be going so slow. However, in a blink of an eye I am a quarter through senior year and have been applying to college, among the other bajillion extracurricular activities I agreed to be involved in. One near the very top of my list of my things to accomplish each day is cross country practice. No matter how terrible I think my day has gone cross country practice, well running in general, makes it better. It allows me to prove that I don’t totally suck at everything. I can just run and think about the events of the day and count all the little memories that I made. One of my goals for senior year is to count the memories and not the days. There are so many wonderful things that happen everyday in and amongst the bad ones. On my runs I can think about all the good times. I love running so much and it has changed my life. I have come so far and I still have high, yet attainable goals and while an injury put a bit of a damper on those goals I have not backed down. I have been seen as an optimistic person by my peers for a long time and I have lived that truthfully this season. I have realized through running that being optimistic doesn’t mean you are always smiling and perfect at everything. Optimism is keeping your goals in mind no matter the obstacles, optimism is helping others when they are struggling, optimism is being a leader inside and outside of the classroom. Now as my final high school cross country season comes to an end I am getting dejected , because I know how special our team is and that I may never experience something like this again. I have enjoyed my team so much. From the crazy runs we did in costumes and through pits of mud, to our camp and running up crazy hills at the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. I have made friends and memories that will last a lifetime. I have learned the importance of not giving up, no matter the situation. There have been times where it seemed like my only option was giving up, spraining my ankle two weeks before regionals was clearly not the plan for my senior season. Now it is my time to move on from high school cross country and move on to my final high school track season. I will look back on the good times and always remember the teams and the fun we had together. I will continue to make goals and crush goals and enjoy running as I have the past several years. Running is a true lifetime sport. People often lose sight of that. Some may see it as something to do in school to get in shape to another sport that you may or may not play after high school / college. Running can be done at practically every age and every skill level. There is no dribbling of balls involved, there is no “playing time” questions, there is no sitting on the bench. A walk break here and there,and a place to run is all runners need. Every season, every temperature, every year. So as I proceed into the second quarter of senior year I will remember they family that has been created through the years and know that they are there for me whatever arises. I will continue to spread optimism in order to better my home, school and community. A lot is learned through the process of running and the more you run alone or in groups of people the more you learn.