Reflection of self is often the most difficult type that exists. This assignment seems unique because it not only allows me to evaluate who I am as a person, but it also allows me to determine what made me the way I am today. When asked to describe myself, the first words that come to my mind are hardworking, passionate, and supportive. One might wonder why these three words immediately stand out in my mind, and the only explanation I have for them is my high school experience. When high school began, I had a feeling of what I wanted to invest my time in over the course of the next four years: baseball. This dream was immediately crushed when I was cut from the team as a freshman. After the cuts were made, my friend, who was also cut, approached me about joining the school’s Cross Country and Track and Field teams for the upcoming year. At the time, I was not interested, but joined the sport to continue various friendships I had made during middle school.
I spent the first two years on the team as one of the worst. The rigorous workouts took a dramatic toll on me, both physically and mentally. I contemplated quitting various times, as many of my friends from middle school did. Time management was a huge issue in my life, and I just was not the most interested person in the sport. At the end of my sophomore year, I decided to switch to the “Middle Distance” training group. Mid-Distance requires the perfect balance of speed and stamina, and this switch was when I truly realized I had a passion for running. At the start of my junior year, everything began to change. Through hard work during the summer, I began to see the progress I was making during my junior Cross Country season. As I continued the year, I could not help but realize that my progress made was fueled not by my natural ability, but by my developing passion. I continued to make huge strides in my running career all throughout my senior year. What made me even more motivated was the group of individuals that pushed me to the next level.
Over the remainder of my high school career, my teammates and I developed a special bond that was often coined as “The Brotherhood.” We considered ourselves brothers because of all that we persevered through, together. From passing out after practice to our legs filling with lactic acid for days, we could always be assured of one thing: that we were in this together. While racing, I constantly reminded myself of the unremitting pain my teammates and I experienced during the various weeks of training. This reminder allowed me to regularly motivate myself to reach unimaginable amounts of discomfort, and then keep going. There were times when my teammates and I needed each other, and we provided nothing but consistent support and concern. Now as my college years await me, I can always be thankful for the immense impact my “brothers” have instilled upon me.
While one might consider this high school sport as a reflection of self somewhat corny, I do not. I could have quit anytime during my freshman, or sophomore, year and that would have been the end of it. Instead, I decided to hang with it and wound up proving that hard work does triumph over talent more often than not. Because of track, I now understand that our purpose in life is to find something we love, and run with it. In my case, I found running, and well, ran with it. Lastly, I consider myself a supportive person because of the way my teammates and I valued each other’s time during high school. I am ever grateful for their impact, and I strive to treat all people I meet with a similar mindset. Not many people know the feeling of stepping on the track and preparing to lay it all on the line. When that gun goes off, everything stops, and suddenly nothing else matters. When all is said and done, I can honestly say this unintentional joining of the track team as a freshman has shaped who I am today and who I will be in the future.
Final Indoor Track Race- Senior Year
