Life of a Cross Country student

It’s bitter sweet every time I talk about my passion for running and people always say, “You actually like that?” Yes, I do. I love it. Running actually helps clear my mind of all the busy things going on in my life and is an awesome past time. But, besides being a runner I’m also a student. I attend a competitive high school where the classes are vigorous, and the teachers are strict. But, besides being a runner and a student, I’m also a son. I live under my parents’ roof and at home, whatever they say, goes. I have strict parents that have high expectations of me. Home isn’t complete relaxation though. At home I face a lot of chores and do a lot of work. It definitely isn’t easy to balance all the busy things that go on in my life so every hour counts. It requires a precise schedule that must be on time.

My day basically starts when I wake up. I generally wake up at 6 o’clock not by an alarm clock but for some reason that’s just the time I wake up. I get an early start in the morning and start getting ready by brushing my teeth, washing my hair, getting my clothes, packing up my backpack, etc. Given some time of pointlessly walking around in my room and being distracted by other things, I’m generally all ready by 7:10. I get all my things and head downstairs where I get breakfast. I get something quick to eat with a glass of milk and start biking to school. My school isn’t to terribly far and is probably a 5-8 minute bike rides depending on whether I make the crossing light or not. After I get to school, class starts at 8:00. From then I sit in class listening to my teacher lecture, and do work until 2:50 when the bell rings. It isn’t easy to sit in a class for so long. I’m a person that has to keep moving and do some activity so I really pity the students that attend schools that implement a 2 hour block schedule. I would die listening to a teacher talking for 2 hours. After 6 periods of Chemistry, Algebra 2/Trig, World History, Physical Education, English Honors, and Japanese, I’m quite exhausted.

But, my day does not end. At 3:00 I have cross country practice, my beloved passion. Or not. Some days I’m so lazy and tired after 6 periods I just don’t feel like running. At practice we run at least 3 miles on an easy day. I love running but I didn’t say it was easy. The guys on the team are fast and you cannot fall behind. There’s this guy on my team who’s my grade and I have so much respect for him. He is extremely dedicated to the sport and is even on the varsity team. On top of that he takes challenging AP and Honors classes while getting a GPA that’s above 4.0. If I attempted to do what he does, I would have multiple mental breakdowns. It’s definitely isn’t easy for him because I go through even less than what he does but somehow he still manages to find proficient success.

Anyways, after about two hours of practice that generally ends at 5:30, I have to get on my bike and bike home. By the time I get home I can seriously feel the fatigue in my muscles and the lactic acid just fill my body. Wouldn’t it just be amazing to lay on my bed and take a nap?…. NOPE. HIT THE BOOKS! My classes require A LOT of work. And unfortunately, I’m not one of those gifted geniuses that understand material the first time it’s introduced to them and never study. I have to study a bit extra if I want to get good grades. This is the hardest part of my day. These hours after practice to do my homework and study require me to summon my deepest will with a little help of caffeine in order to be able to pull this off. In a sense it’s even mentally straining to get myself to do this. I just want to lay on my couch and watch TV all day after having drained my body of its energy but no, I have to continue to work.

It isn’t all that bad though. Some days are worse than other and just depends if some days I have more on my plate than others or whether if a certain grade is stressing me out or not.

After agonizing hours of sitting in a desk and staring at papers and textbooks, I usually get to bed around 12 or 1 on average and at 2 if I have a test the coming day. When I was younger I never really liked sleeping. I would always be the first one up and was always a morning person. Now, it’s basically the complete opposite. I sleep like a baby and don’t want to ever leave my bed. I’m such a sloth in the morning and it’s not easy to drag myself out of bed in the morning. And the rest of my day is basically repeat.

My week day life is not exactly the most desirable thing to go through. Not for me at least. I do realize some people have it even harder and take even more challenging classes than I. For me my own daily life is pretty difficult but I know I have to power through and do it. I know it’ll come to pay off in the future and help me find success.