Personal Narrative: Who I Am Today

I was born to run. I adore the feeling of aching legs, winded breath, and the absolute joy of knowing I have accomplished something so utterly momentous: winning a race. When I run, I feel strong and vivacious both on the inside and on the outside. Last year, I decided to join the high school cross-country team. I was extremely excited and could not wait for practice to begin, but I was also somewhat nervous. What if I was not talented enough? What if my skills were not competent enough? What if the coaches thought I was just… mediocre? I was so nervous, I began to doubt and feel dubious about my running potentiality.

In physical education we were put to do the mile I was always second to last if not last I wasnt made fun of but I didnt really good about myself. As the years went on I was still fat couldn’t do anything until sophomore year of high school is where it all changed. I remember it quite clearly as if it was yesterday I was sitting in my math class when one of classmates had large number pinned to his bag and a uniform on that hadn’t seen before. That's when I got curious and asked what sport was all this for he then explained it was for cross country and that I should join it would be fun. It turns out that the season was about to end so it was to late to join so I had to wait for next year so I did. I went my junior in the summer since that's when they practiced and ran for the first time. After this first run I thought I was going to literally die and didn't want to this any more and to top it off all the guy runners who I thought that were slow beat one by one. This is where I decided I wasn't going to be last or lose a race to anyone. I practiced the whole year and did track top it off. Now the summer of my senior year was very motivational since I got up early ran and did this everyday till school started to be the best of my high school. Well the season would begin and I was breaking my school records and receiving medals from invitationals and

For 2 years I was a member of the Central Toronto Athletic Club. CTAC is a competitive middle distance running club that trains its athletes to compete in track and field and cross country events. It is a year round athletic club that is a platform for talented people of almost all ages to train and to focus on their self-progress as an athlete. At CTAC I was encouraged to push myself to test the limits of my speed, endurance and strength and to discover what my body is truly capable of. Running was a very satisfying sport because my achievements were directly proportional to the amount of work that I put in. At CTAC, I learned discipline, dedication and perseverance. I had to balance my schoolwork with daily practices or workouts, I ran six

In sixth grade I quit the school band in the middle of my third year to join Running Club. The goal of Running Club was to run a 5k after weeks of practice and I accepted the challenge. Throughout the duration of training, I would find the long runs consistently demanding and a test to my motivation to persevere in the club. One of the coaches, Miss. Ames, was my teacher from the previous year and she ran with me during practice. She constantly encouraged me to push myself a little more every run and to keep practicing. I was frustrated with my performance, but Miss. Ames continued to encourage me. Nevertheless, preparing for that 5k was an eye-opening and an overall amazing experience.

I’ve always had a desire for running and when I heard Richland Center High had a Cross Country team, I knew I wanted to be on it! When I did start, it was tough. There were times my sanity would ask, “ WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU

It all started with the training I put in during the off season. Track is something I have always liked and been good at, but before last year, I had never put in the time to be good. After freshman year, I was not where I wanted to be and I was disappointed with how I did at state. Last fall I decided to start

As soon as I joined the team, I made new friends and had lots of new workouts I have never done before that were tremendously hard. For example, one specific workout I can remember that was super hard fell on a Thursday. That Thursday was a repeat day which means you keep doing the same thing over and over again until the amount you have to do is up. We had to do 18 400’s with 45 seconds of rest. If you did not stay above or below three seconds of your goal, coach would tell you to stop the workout because you're not trying your best. Talk about puking after practices and sweat dripping down your face and back! When I joined the team, we were eligible to go to nationals all over the United States. So throughout the time I was on the private team, I went to nationals for cross country five times and went to nationals for track and field four times just during my three years in middle

Hi iam Edgardo Flores i was born in casa grande, az not that far away from our state capital,Phoenix, Az.theres nothing better to do in a hot summer than going out with the friends to a lake and have a blast riding jet skis boats and my favorite, swimming!My activites of the day are shooting,riding horses,and my favorite one is quad riding.Thats right! ive been doing these fun exciting hobbies since i was 9 years old.pretty young huh?

Between sixth and eighth grades, I tried out for the dance team three times and color guard once. I did not make it onto any of these teams. It baffled me that I could not do it even after six years of dancing. Was I not trying hard enough? This was a rough time for me for I could not comprehend what was happening. However, each time I learned to get back up and work harder. I never did make the dance or Color Guard teams, but my failures set me on my path to finding something that I could do and be proud of. On this path, I found Cross Country. This team did not require a try-out; it was all about gradual improvement. I had never run before, but if my failures taught me anything, it was that I should never give up. My teammates and I pushed

I had no experience as a runner nor did I have the form. This did not phase me however. That year I promised myself to push through all the six mile runs, sore legs, gnarly blisters, and at times, lack of oxygen. At every meet and speed workout practice I pushed myself further and further. I set a goal every time I kicked off from the starting line and never let myself get discouraged when I failed. By my senior year, I was the fourth fastest runner on varsity. That year our varsity team won the district meet, which qualified us to run in the 2016 state meet in Oregon. The transformation over the years were evident. My determination to accomplish my goal of becoming a faster runner was complete. If I had simply just given up that first day of practice, I wouldn't have ran along side of the fastest runners in Oregon or have met the multitude of people that are now my closest friends. Having a goal sets one up for a challenge, whether it being physically or mentally, goals keep us active and thinking in more ways than one. Still, if someone has self-control, confidence, and a goal, they are still not complete.

Have you ever felt robbed of a childhood? At the age of six, I was placed into the DYFS system. I moved from house to house, not really having the chance to grow up like normal children. I didn’t get to experience things such as ; asking my older sister advice on boys, learning how to cook grandma’s favorite recipe, or going on family vacation to Disney world . I worked hard to get where I am right now. My experiences have made me of who I am today , my story will tell you my background, where I came from and why my application is incomplete without it.

There were many people in my life that got me to who I am today. My family and friends were the main people that influenced who I am. There were many events that influenced me but the most recent one is picking early college.

This was my first time running long distance since 7th grade and now it was sophomore year. I did not play any sports during my freshman year because I tried out for the soccer team that year too, but I did not make it. It took a lot of time for me to decide on a participating in a fall sport, but I finally settled on cross country. I started the season as one of the slowest guys. I only expected to get a little better during the season. I promised myself I would try my absolute hardest. In order to earn my letter in the sport I would have to hit a certain time in my 5k. I had no intention of earning it though. Throughout the season I gradually got faster and was happy with myself.

Running has been a crucial part of my development as a person and a student. I was a terribly unathletic child growing up. Truly focused on academics, music, and art, I was weak and skinny. Gym class would cause me stress as my peers looked down upon my skills and did not pick me to participate in their team. I still remember my seventh grade gym teacher laughing at my terrible volley ball skills. However, I started track and field in seventh grade. I was definitely not the best runner and it took a while for me to become used to moving after years of idle activities. I was still seen as an un-athletic person, but I decided to persevere and continue to run. I joined the cross country team in eighth grade and continued to run ever since. By

You want to know what shaped/molded me as student. Wow, that's a funny qurstion! I believed I didn't know what made me who I am, but as I look back and forth, I realized, it was me. I am my own motivation. I don't look up to anyone, I just look forward to something. I am a believer, dreamer, achiever, and wonderer. As I look around me and see how my family and others of a different and same ethnicity living their whole life on a budget, barely making ends meet, I tell myself I will be better and become better. I will not let my surroundings select or change the way I am. When I was younger, I believed everything would just come and fall into my arms. I wanted to be all of the occupations I seen on TV. I planted in my head that I would be a