I discovered one of my passions by participating in a sport I swore i would never do: cross country. For the majority of my life I had played competitive soccer and it was part of my identity. I loved the feeling of sprinting down the field towards an attacking forward for the sole purpose of helping my team and I never wanted to give that up. Entering my freshman year of high school, I joined a soccer program that was filled with pressure to win games, and although I had a great time during the season with my teammates I sensed that something wasn’t right. My parents and friends knew the struggles I was going through with soccer and they all said the same thing, “why don’t you try cross country?” My answer was the same each time, “I would never even consider doing cross country, that's not going to happen. Sophomore year started and again I put myself through the pressures of making a soccer team. That year, the program cut 21 girls and I was put on a team mostly filled with freshman. I was devastated by this because I had worked relentlessly for four months during soccer pre-season …show more content…
I decided that I was going to run cross country in the fall, something I never even considered before. The first week of practise, I anticipated dreading going on the long runs and suffering through difficult workouts. Instead, what found was the most supportive group of people in my school and even more surprising I discovered my love of running. Now in my senior year of high school, I have become a dedicated runner who finds enjoyment in the pain of pushing yourself to the limit.
Cross Country has taught me many lessons such as the importance of commitment and determination, however the lesson that stands out is the importance of being open to new opportunities and overcoming obstacles. I felt so upset about not continuing soccer, but I never would have found my love of running and cross country without