Tristan W., Oakwood High School
Race Pace
Sometimes I wonder what I love about Cross Country. How could I enjoy spending hours upon hours putting in hard work that will result in minute improvements in speed. In many ways, each individual day, assignment, task, or run does not matter in the big picture. However, I have found that it doesn’t help to think of this. The best way to ensure performance over the long term is to focus on the relationships with my peers. Instead of thinking about the thousands of miles I will run throughout my life, I focus on keeping up with one of my friends, sticking with someone slightly faster than me in order to improve.
I have high expectations of myself. I expect that I will always perform well in school, achieving high marks on as many assignments as possible. I participate in extracurricular activities, and I have played an instrument for many years. I frequently tell myself that after this project, concert, or race, I will be less busy and have more free time. However, I only seem to get busier. I found myself wondering, why do I still do this? What's the point?
Recently, I read a book titled Useful Delusions by Shankar Vedantam and Bill Mieser. This book proposed that humans use emotional buffers to shield themselves and each other from the, frankly, depressing realities of the world. These emotional buffers primarily consist of the relationships you have with your friends and family. For me, this was not a new idea, more of a realization that what I had previously thought had a substantial backing. Before reading this book, if someone asked me why I work so hard, I would tell them the standard answer: “I need to get into a good college to get a good job.” The problem with the answer, if that is my goal, I am condemning myself to at least 8 more years of working in school, followed by 30-40 years working a job, followed by a retirement of 10-30 years. I don’t want that. In the end, my goal is to live up to my family and friend’s expectations while helping others do the same.
Overall, I have found that it is important to remember that the destination may not necessarily be the goal. While success is important, connections with those around me are far more important. I use these connections to work through difficult situations, and to help those around me do the same. To maintain my goals despite challenges, my race pace despite hills, I rely on my friends and the connections I have made with them.
