College Admissions Essay: Running To A Peace Of Mind

Running to a Peace of Mind Team sports are essential in helping young athletes make friends, learn teamwork, and discipline. What about sports with no benches, no teammates to depend on, and no half-times? I have run Cross-country for 5 years now and with each race, I learn more about the sport. Coming into the preseason for my first year of Cross-country, I had never run competitively or even ran for more than two miles. Today, I place second of the girls in my school and even became team captain. In the earlier years, running was tough for me because of putting myself down mentally and struggling to stay determined. Over the years, I have built up crucial elements to reach a level of success that met my personal satisfaction.

As a result of this intense sport that is demanding and which requires training and building endurance, athletes now view tasks as trivial, that previously would have been too great. Once one finds the determination to do their best in Cross-country, they are able to focus that determination towards other tasks. Additionally, motivation is considered therapeutic because it is giving a person new purpose and a way to improve upon one’s self. For that reason, there is nothing better and more relaxing than discovering something that inspires you to keep going, whether in academics or athletics. After running Cross-country, I was more motivated to finish homework assignments, rather than procrastinate, and more willing to do chores. It is hard to reach a point when one is satisfied with their results and are able to say they did to the best of their ability. In Cross-country, athletes push their limits with nothing to lose, because even if they lose the race, in their heads they have broken through a personal boundary. If there is no motivation to get out of bed and go on an early morning run before the evening heat, or to give a race all the effort and energy, where will a person go to find the motivation to carry over into other responsibilities? We each need an activity to drive us and serve as a core inspiration that makes it clear what we are capable of. There is

Cross-country running is the perfect relaxing activity to release this tension because it serves as a positive outlet to put one’s heart and energy into. Running aids as a way to draw attention away from our busy lives and provides athletes with a way to think through their problems while aiming that stress into something physical. Emotional well-being is important in constructing the fundamentals for healthy behaviors and educational achievement. My emotional well-being increased because of running when I realized my potential and was better able to work productively. Factors associated with emotional well-being consist of self-confidence, positivity, and a sense of control, all of which progress from running. Confidence is built after finishing a race or getting a mile split you never thought could be achieved. Positivity is developed when an athlete is aching and wants to quit a race, but perseveres and focuses on the good that may result. Likewise, the sense of control arises as a runner is aware that a race is under their authority in the aspect that they have the power over their time and placing in the competition. Running, with maintained health as the outcome, supports key features that enable individuals to participate in society and meet the demands of everyday life. More importantly, aside from an