Here is the college admissions essay that I recently came across again, after writing it over two years ago. I see mistakes that I can correct now, but I will leave it as I found it. I’d been advised not to write about the same sports experiences that every other student would likely cover in their essays, but this was how much running meant to me. And it’s not like it kept me out of my dream school, after all.
I may not be the first person to finish a race on my cross-country team, but running nonetheless has taken a first-place position on my list of passions. Oddly enough, if you told me in middle school I would be running six days a week and thoroughly enjoying it, I would have concluded you were talking to the wrong person. I was completely unathletic as a child; I hated running. I must have been crazy to join the high school cross-country team, but it has become the most enriching, satisfying experience of my life. Ultimately, running has shaped every part of who I have come to be.
Initially, I had my doubts about what kind of a runner I would make. I eventually found the quantitative elements of the sport – the honors, titles, and medals – didn’t matter to me at all.
Instead, I learned how to push my limits physically and mentally. I pressed the boundaries and discovered what I could really do. I worked hard, pushed a little more each day, and found that I got improvement and results. With every practice, I could go a little farther and a little faster than the day before, simply because I had tried my hardest yesterday. I saw a problem, conquered it, and could move on to better things, bit by bit. I translated this tenacity to academics and have ventured to learn what I once was convinced I could not master. In this manner, running has become a constant source of triumph for me and will continue to bolster my resolve through college and beyond.
In addition to changing my thinking, running also helped me discover a new approach to clearing my mind and feeling complete at the end of the day. I am not quite as happy on days that I am forced not to run (due to injury or inclement weather). I like to have a goal that I can accomplish daily. Recently, I became injured and could not run for several weeks. In those weeks, I discovered – rather ironically – how devoted I am to my sport.
The longer I practiced, the more I came to enjoy the workouts and the “runner’s high,” best described as the second wind and exhilaration a runner feels after an extended period of exertion. I even came to value challenges such as running uphill. The day I set my current personal record for the 800m, I sprinted through the park, the wind blowing against me and leaves fluttering away from under my feet, and felt as though I could understand what it might be like to fly. The experience will remain in my memory as one of my happiest ever.
I love that I can apply my philosophies about running to anything else I have encountered in life while I am not wearing my running shoes. This has meant more to me than any other accomplishment of mine because it came from somewhere out in left field—an area in which I never thought I could achieve anything meaningful. I suppose I also learned for myself to “never say never.” I have come to find an uncommon peace and fulfillment through athletics. I adore running because it is wholly different from what I already accomplish in school. I have discovered a new enthusiasm for a joy that has rewarded me many times over for the effort I place in it.
