Personal Narrative: My First Week Of Special Olympics

It happened in a split second. A blink of an eye. It only took three seconds for me to become a lifelong spectator after relentless training. I can't blame fate for everything knowing my extreme stubbornness. Every day I am reminded of my failure as I walk by the field that once used to be my home.

I found my love for athletic activity at a young age. When I was 7 years old, I was enrolled in a YMCA summer program in Michigan. That is where it all started. My summer days were filled with various sport activities. Unfortunately, when I moved to California at the age of 10, I stopped playing sports for at least a year. However, during the rest of elementary school, throughout middle school, and in high school, I played different sports to figure out which one I liked best, which is now, Track & Field.

Cheer Athletics in Plano is one of the most prestigious competition gyms in the country. There are other Cheer Athletics’ branches in other places like Frisco and Austin, but not one is as successful as Plano. It is the absolute best place to go for a serious cheerleader. The best and most experienced coaches work there and they are hungry to win. They expect every ounce of energy and athleticism to be left on the floor when we are finished performing. I have never had any problems with an authority figure until I started at Cheer Athletics.

One time when playing travel baseball my team played in a 16 youth tournament , and we were the only 14 and 15 year old team. We were a very small team in size and numbers , but we had a great amount of talent for our size and age. The tournament took place in Columbus Ohio. We were the only team from Tennessee in the tournament , and we worked very hard all year to make it to the tournament. We played up in pretty much every tournament all season , so we came prepared to see some very talented and big teams. Sure enough we showed up to our hotel the first day arriving and there were tons of teams staying in the same hotel , and by the looks of these teams we were by far the smallest team. The next day was the start of the tournament and we

“Sprinters don’t even do anything,” is what the distance runners say. “You guys hardly even run,” they go on. As a sprinter, I hear this a lot. Every year we get grief from them about how they think we don’t do anything and it’s very agitating. Track and field is supposed to be a team sport, although people do run in their separate events. Having the long distance runners always talk gossip and tell us we never do anything is just adding unnecessary drama. I hope some day they can learn to stop making perceptions of us.

As a track runner, it is a necessity to be relaxed yet focused and determined. When I participate in track meets or even at practices, I receive a comforting warmth just by stepping onto the track. I feel as though burdens and worries temporarily lift from my shoulders. One may wonder how this can make someone content with their surroundings instead of nervous and uneasy based upon their environment and luckily for me this is an uncomplicated notion to explain. Unlike particular people, the track calms me and gives me a place to clear my head. I work relentlessly to achieve my goals, nevertheless it also gives me the clearance and space I need to effectively work my hardest whether it be a physical goal I am working to achieve

I actively participate in a variety of extracurricular activities. Both seeing a need and having an interest, I along with some other girls founded our school’s first Athletic Training Program during my freshman year. In the program, we educate students on common injuries seen in high school sports. As the head trainer for our school’s swim team and girl’s track team, I attend to athletes’ sore muscles, apply wraps, and provide assistance to our new trainers (2015-2018). I’m also a leader within my school’s division of Future Health Professionals of America(HOSA), helping to energize the students preparing for healthcare jobs in the future. I became one of the founding members of Stem Moms in 2014, a program that educates students about

From the first moment I stepped into the dimly lit gym filled with the sour sent of sweat as my curious feet hit the soft blue floor, I knew that this was where I belonged. There were gymnast frantically flipping left and right peacefully in total chaos and I couldn't wait to join them. My world began in the same place I spent countless hours a week ever since I was four, London Gymnastics Academy. I had a passion for defying gravity and taking ruthless risks alongside my teammates who shared the same insane passion as I did.

Imagine yourself, about to join your first season as a student-athlete of an elite, collegiate Cross Country team. It could be scary at first, but if you think about it, that is the next level to improving your physical and mental body. It’s also because it’s your first time joining an actual elite team that includes individuals, similar to you that have the same driven desire to win and go to finals like you. For instance, I was able to feel the same feeling when I joined DeAnza’s Cross Country team a year ago. It was hard to decide whether I should join the Cross Country or not since I'm in college now.

As a little girl, I was the child who would never let go of my parents. If anyone ever glanced over at me they would catch me either wrapping my whole body around my Mom's legs or begging my Dad to pick me up and hold me. Even worse, if any adults dare took the chance to come over and talk to me I would hide my face, thinking they couldn’t see me so I would never have to talk to anyone. I was shy. Simple as that, talking to people was something I feared the most.

The gentle green grass embedded with turf, surrounded by eight lanes, each having a perpetual loop. This is the place where I can relax, let go, and just be me. Whether it is a team practice, meet, or individual practice, I always feel a sense of serenity and tranquility. A Track and Field has become a prominent part of my life because I don’t have to act superficial. Throughout my earlier life I always had a knack for Track/Field, but I never amounted to anything when it came to receiving accolades. As I continued to grow older, I began to become more and more interested in Track and Field and start to push myself physically and mentally to succeed in the sport. When this started to happen I familiarized myself in the vast world of Track and

The question was: how? I attended orientation and it was one of the best weekends at UNG. I fell in with the love and passion the orientation leaders had and from that moment I knew that I have to become an orientation leader. I want to share the amazing experience that orientation offers upcoming freshman. In addition, I am a commuter and want to help upcoming freshman know that they have access to resources that UNG offers even if they are commuters. I want to make them feel welcome and part of this amazing community that I have fallen in love

I had one of the best opportunities my freshman year. Throughout the whole track season I trained to make it to state track. This is a huge event in the state of Iowa for some of the top athletes who are involved in track and field. I was lucky enough to make it.

I was at Gymstars Gymnastics (my gymnastics gym), and I was about 11 years old, and we were doing vault drills on the floor. I jumped on the springboard, and landed on the side of my foot, it didn't hurt which was weird. I just kept doing everything like normal.

Extracted from the comfort of my hometown, I had the opportunity to attend one of the best schools in Mobile County. Faced with many challenges I managed to make lifelong friends, set an example for others, and learn to accept and respect perspectives that are not my own. I had come from a small town with people who were simple minded and were afraid to push the envelope. The change in location exposed me to a more diverse student body and equipt me with the tools I needed to expand my intellect and world view. I was chosen to be a peer tutor on the special education hall, frowned upon by my Ap teachers who encouraged me to drop the class. I am immensely grateful to have been among such intelligent individuals. My unit focused on students with Asperger Syndrome, a developmental disorder affecting ability to effectively socialize and communicate. I had built relationships with the students and immediately fell in love with their ability to be brutally honest. I was one of few who appreciated their honesty and they accepted my friendship because of it. The truth hurts but so does life. That was something I needed in such a dark time in my life, a meeting with reality itself. They allowed me to see the beauty in the struggle. They taught me to be honest with myself. My purpose in life had gone missing in a bowl of Campbell’s number soup. All my life I’ve been a series of numbers, not a