As I ran across the finish line for the last time I could not help but smile; all the memories and lessons learned from my years on cross country and track flashed before my eyes. Salem Cross Country and Track has impacted and shaped me into a leader, friend, daughter, and student. The competition and friendship I found on the cross country and track team is amazing and has aided me in personal growth. The challenge of running is something that I have learned to cherish the most during my years as a high schooler as it taught me to always work hard. Nothing is ever given to you in life and if you want to achieve your goals, you must challenge yourself past your limits. While running is an individual sport, the team is so important to becoming a better athlete and person. The team challenges you to be your best and has become the biggest competitor for me. My teammates inspire me to work harder and push me to run faster in every meet and practice. This type of competition is positive because I want my teammates to succeed and they want to see me accomplish my goals. The competition and teamwork that I have learned and …show more content…
I strongly believe my ambition and drive to do great things has been reinforced by my cross country and track teams. This scholarship gifted by the NFL Alumni – Detroit Chapter would allow me to focus on my studies and growing as a young adult instead of worrying about how I am going to pay for my next semester in college. The scholarship will allow me to consider a more selective major and institution that is the best for my future career because the cost of attendance will decrease from the scholarship money. Lastly, the security and money afforded by this scholarship will free me from working long hours in a part-time job and allow me to select internships, volunteer opportunities, and unique learning experiences to enhance my personal growth and college
With my relay team stretched,warmed up, and ready to go, we headed towards the stadium where we would race against the fastest girls in the nation. Intimidated but not deterred we headed out of Tent City and into the gates of Turner Stadium. Knowing this was my last race I would run with my close friends and relay team, being it 's the last race of the season and we all weren’t going to be in the same age group next year, I had a whole new mind set. I was constantly thinking, “we have to make top ten because we can make top ten.” “We have the times, we have the strength, we have the speed, we just need to have the guts to walk in there like we are going to shred the track into pieces.
This was the first race that I experienced the difficulty of being a runner. I had placed 17 and had the worst race of my short career, My older brother placed third and was thanked by coaches, parents, and teammates for leading the team to an outstanding victory. My second oldest brother was captain of the team and was always relied on to lead the team. Watching my brother during my first season of cross country taught me a lot about leadership. After I started cross country I learned about the leadership and experienced failure.
Ready! Set! Go! As the elder referee fires the flare gun, the runners take off. Among the runners are several serious athletes, including Josiah, who are competing for the "Number One in the Nation" award.
In life, even though we are told not to do so, a lot of us “count our chickens before they hatch”. We make assumptions on things before they happen because we believe that if something seems so likely, it will happen. Well, that is what my Liberty High School cross country team did my sophomore year. Going into the year, we not only knew we were going to be strong, we thought other teams were going to be weak. The top teams from the state finals the previous year had all lost most of their key pieces.
During my final year of Cross Country around Regionals at Oglethorpe, I ran my final race for my high school career. Banks County was nearly number one in the State, the furthest we had ever ranked in history, and spirit and hopes for State Championship were high. I was nervous, like nobody’s business, I had messed up during my senior night because I was upset for my parents for not showing up and escorting me. And I was scared that I was going to do horribly. But as I ran, I realized that if I let my past mistakes and failures hold me back or get in my way, so I ran, harder and better than I ever had before and apparently even beat a “skinny kid”.
Joining the sisterhood of Kappa Kappa Gamma has enhanced my life in many ways. Throughout the past year, I not only met the friends that will be with me for the rest of my life, but met the people I call family. Every member of this sisterhood has encouraged me to be a better version of myself. In particular, this past semester, living in the chapter house and being surrounded by this amazing family throughout most of my day has increased by GPA, improved my mental and physical health, and decreased the stress that comes with being in college.
While education can open doors to your life, having the initiative to be successful is what really counts. I am determined and I have the desire to study Business but am lacking the financial support needed to achieve my goal. The Plant City Lions Club Scholarship would help me by giving me an opportunity to pursue my dream career. My desire is to be able to study in order to work and give back to my parents who have helped me accomplish graduating from Plant City High School with honors and with a weighted GPA of 4.7321.Receiving financial support will allow me to make a difference in the challenging world of Business. My parents have always supported me in everything, but unfortunately they cannot afford my college tuition.
After years of practice, I progressed in the sport and joined my high school team. Initially, running track was a way of escaping the stress from my parents’ divorce. It taught me to endure more pain than I could have ever imagined. With each grueling stride, my mind would fight my aching body to quit. However, I would always find a way to stay determined and keep pushing forward.
Jesse Owens once said, “[w]e all have dreams. But in order to make that dream a reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.” The dreams that I have for my life aren’t going happen overnight, they are going to take time, determination, self-discipline, and effort. Along with taking time and effort, I’m going to take my personal qualities and put them to work. I believe I’m a good applicant for this scholarship because I have good work ethic, good relationships with people, but I also have good characteristics including being goal oriented.
The first time i ran the mile was at an away meet against Sayville Middle School, I had been practicing and training for weeks beating my own time repetitively raising the bar on my personal best time. Immediately upon arrival I was intimidated by the track, it looked like it went on for miles in comparison to the track at my school. The one hundred
I would continue running track because I love the sport and the ways it pushes me to my physical and mental limits. With this sport, it has taught me discipline and dedication inside and outside the sport. I know no matter how fast I run or how hard I work, I can always do better. This sport has challenged me to do my best and beyond. When I would want to quit or stop running during a workout, I pushed through and endured.
Have you ever ran in a cross country meet? I have ran in countless cross country meets; I have been running cross country for eight years now. Every race I run is a challenge, no matter what, because I push by body to its limit. Most people do not consider cross country to be fun. The enjoyable part is definitely not the race itself, but the feeling afterwards knowing that I kept pushing myself when my body and mind were both telling me to stop.
My passion for track and field began with a Nike advertisement. At age ten, I opened the newspaper to a two-page spread of the hometown distance running legend Steve Prefontaine overlaid by a paragraph of inspirational copy. It concluded asking, “Where is the Next Pre?” The story of his small town Oregon roots, gutsy racing style, and ambition to be the best resonated with me like nothing ever had before. I told myself I was the next Pre, and then tore off for my first run through the streets of Eugene, Oregon – “Tracktown USA”.
Running was all I could do. Even though my lungs burned, I couldn 't stop. I can’t stop. I don 't even know what I’m running from anymore.
Ah, the love of indoor track meets! A similar situation has happened to me at an indoor meet where I kept running because I wasn 't sure if I still had another lap left. Which the officials are supposed to keep track of the amount of laps we run, especially when we’re distance runners, running on a 200 meter track! In this situation, I would recommend never relying on other people’s body language while they are running. When someone is exerting themselves so much in a race, their facial expressions might look like they are about the finish, but really they could just be tired.