It was an eerie and foggy time of morning when Mr. Foster began to wake up. He looked over at his TV and saw that there was a flash flood last night. The flood devastated most of Kanawha County and the Metro Valley. Because the flood was so sudden, people on the scene knew there would be casualties. Edward knew this would be mighty well for his business which just happens to be one of the only funeral homes in that area of Kanawha County.
The “hood” is often what downtown, Elizabeth NJ is labeled as. Children like me are doubted as many people seem to believe we will just become another statistic. My background has motivated to strive for success, proving those with agnosticism wrong. Seeing bodies strung out on the corner or laying on the sidewalk is a part of my everyday life. I’m not ashamed of where I come from as it has made me who I am today.
Montreat, North Carolina is a Presbyterian Youth Conference located in Black Mountain. We meet so many new people, we exchange opinions, and we share our difficulties. We become so much closer to our youth group, which for the week is referred to as our back-home group. Montreat is such a safe place. I know I can truly be myself whether I am with my friends or with strangers.
Us other three runners, didn’t know what to do. We watched our teammate, our friend, just broken down. We attempted to comfort him because we just felt so bad. I imagine how bad he felt, how he was thinking that he let his team down. At that very moment, I really did not care that we didn’t make it to state.
At my second mile, I was in 36th place and the coach had a worried face. At this point, I started to give up. I started coughing, had a runny nose, and was gasping for air. I finished the race in 36th place with a time of 19:44. I was exhausted and sad that the season was over, but I knew that I had one more season left to make it to
Hearing the sirens of the ambulance and from police cars growing up made me think about how I will continue to be afraid of an ambulance and police car sirens because Wyandotte County has a high crime rate and sometimes I thought about not evening stepping out of my house. Right at the moment that I step outside my house, I wouldn't know if I would come back. No ones life is guaranteed so throughout my high school years I was very strict on myself in regards to hanging out with people and with which people I can rely upon. From school, I went directly to my house because I thought it wouldn't be safe for me to be out especially in a Wyandotte County. I always had to have that in the back of my head because of the area I live in.
Good job.” Some from those who doubted me from the beginning. But it didn’t matter now, because I had proved them wrong. Not making that track team back in seventh grade, only opened a door of opportunities for me. It gave me experience.
It was nice but I looked back at the football. I did not do it for the attention but rather the fact that from there on I would be able to do it. My race wasn’t for the attention, but to prove to myself that I was able to beat the odds. I challenged the preconceived notion that my team would end up last. As a JV team in a varsity race, with the odds against us, we came in 10th out of 17 teams.
In 2014, I entered my freshman year of high school. One of best friends was on the cross country team and he convinced me to join. I never pictured myself as a runner let alone that I would wind up loving it. I had been in a rut for quite a while before that. I had been sick during the winter
As I think about it now, I matured alongside our growing and developing cross-country program. Young and perhaps more than a bit naive, I thought that my chosen sport would be a breeze. I loved to run, but after my first practice, I felt the physical exertion demanded by the sport. This was no casual jog around my gated community; this was real and every fiber of my being understood it. Throughout my freshman year, I worked hard, and my efforts were rewarded when I earned a place in an international athletic tournament (AASCA).
Ding! My alarm boomed. I immediately shut it. Today my parents are gone because they have a highly important meeting to attend. I throw my red velvet blanket with pink stripes straight off my bed.
I had been working hard and really felt like a part of the team. The first real challenge I faced was trying to live in the shadow of my older brothers. Who both had success in their running careers. It was the third race of the year and I was running in the varsity race against our conference rival. To me, this race was a chance to prove I was an important member of the team and could possibly lead the team as captain in the future.
And we were off; All 13 of our runners and 55 of theirs exploding off the starting line and across the field. I was in front, I always was for about the first 100 yards, then a wave of runners passed me and I settled in to where I was supposed to be. The light rain hit my face and body as I pushed through the 3.1 mile course. Although I had no shot at winning, I hoped my teammates in front of me were giving it all they had, albeit they most likely weren’t doing much better. After settling into a rhythm, I started to battle with a runner near me.
I woke up Saturday the 20th, of September with the feeling of a painful sting in my throat. It was two and a half hours before the gun would be fired and I was to race the longest distance I ever did in my life, 21.1km. Well, it all really started almost a year before. I began joining my mom in her 10km runs as she was preparing for her Picton marathon, which she later couldn't participate in due to an injury. I felt that running 10K was possible and started thinking about going further.
Small Town, Big Dreams Baldwin county, a place I 've called home since I was born at Thomas hospital in Fairhope Alabama. A place that is like no other, from the beaches of Gulf Shores or the quiet woods located in Stockton Alabama. I moved to the small town of Bay Minette in the fourth grade. Ever since then I 've been preparing for what my life will soon unfold to be. The first day I walked into Baldwin County High School I knew for the next four years, these were the first few chapters in my young adult life.