Personal Narrative: The El Paso Gridley Team

The weather is perfect for racing: not too hot, not too humid, not too windy. I dash down the twisted trails in the woods, trying not to stumble on the gnarled roots protruding from the dirt. My spikes puncture the soft earth with every stride, and my legs repeatedly pound on the ground, soreness surging through them. As sweat trickles down my face and dirt smears across my aching calves, I ascend a steep hill, trying to bring forth the strength I have accumulated throughout endless hours of practice. Now that I am nearing the final two hundred meters, I must force my body to begin sprinting. Breathing heavily, I dart for the imminent finish line, trying to beat the uninterrupted tick of the timer. Even though the crowd surrounds all around me, I can barely hear their animated cheers, because all I can focus on is crossing the line before the girl next to me. I can feel adrenaline surging through my body, and I widen my stride to cap off the remaining distance. When I glance at my Garmin watch, a new personal best time flashes across the screen. I realize that all of the gruelling work I have put in is worth the final result: happiness. (Snapshot Lead)

I soon snapped out of this state, hastily trying to stretch my muscles, which were cramping because I was so anxious. I heard the announcer yell “Ready, Set, Go!” followed by the pop of the starting pistol. Startled I took off running as fast as I could momentary forgetting to pace myself. I knew I would run out of energy if I didn’t do something to correct myself, so I slowed down and matched my breath to my steps. This way I could get an adequate amount of air into my lungs for aerobic respiration. By doing this I cruised through the first mile of the

My mind will often wander to all the places I've lived in and all those I would love to travel to, or visit again. I think of the streets of Santa Fe, how fresh it would be compared to the over 100 degree temperature of were I am now, the hot dry heat of El Paso, Texas, a place I often come back to, the soil were my roots are permanently ingrained. El Paso has grown significantly in the past 10 years alone and is now the sixth most populous city in Texas (World Population Reviw). It's far from it's days when it was widely known as “El Chuco,” or “ChucoTown,” nicknames whose origins and meaning have long been debated, but no matter how much of the new generation is unfamiliar with these terms the history lives on through the streets and current

I am not from San Antonio. I am not from Texas. I’m from California. Where no one twangs, or drawls, or even says hi to the stranger standing in line at the grocery store. Texas, half way across the U.S and what seems like a whole other country compared to California. It is a completely different place that I could have ever imagined living and calling home. I came to Texas to find myself. I didn’t know that when I came here, but it is what ended up happening.

I was born in El Paso, Texas to Mexican immigrant parents who did their best to raise me and my three siblings. Growing up in El Paso I never even saw myself applying to college, but then my dad made a bold choice to start a career in homeland security and that was when we moved to the DFW area. Ever since we moved to DFW every grade in junior high, i was talked to about college: how to get there, how to pay for it, and how to make it a reality. The thought of going to college never even crossed my mind before coming here. Now as a Senior in high school I'am doing everything in my abilities to make my dreams come true, to go to college and graduate to make my parents proud and prove to them that all their sacrifices haven't gone by without

From day one on the Tonawanda Titans I have felt the true meaning of team. Having joined freshman year, the transition was made easy thanks to this family unit that supports each other every stroke of the way. As a result of this great environment I thrived on going to practice to better myself, which ultimately enabled myself to share my passion for this sport with my fellow teammates both young and old.

It was my first race headed to Greater Lowell Tech.The first thing that happens when i walk into Greater Lowell’s track were 50 to 100 people in different schools including greater lowell there were schools like Mystic Valley, Northeast. My heart was pounding heavily like it can’t stop. luckily i was taking deep breaths to calm myself because the quad race haven’t started yet. So then our coach was discussing about Greater Lowell’s Course but there were a lot people i was shocked to watch. then show us the course when should we take advantage to pass people. Then the starter guy will say all boys will meet in the starting line so i walk there seeing 50 to 100 people in the starting line i already feel my legs shaking and aching a lot, mouth dry too need water etc. I look at the other teams they looked determined

I grew up in two very different communities, El Paso, Texas and Olney, Maryland. I spent the first ten years of my life in El Paso, which being home to a military base, was a community with strong military support. For the past seven years, I have lived in Olney, Maryland, a small town with families that have known each other for generations. No one really moves to Olney, most families have deeply established roots here, so when I moved to Olney when I was 10, I was very much an outsider. El Paso was fairly limited to El Paso as far as short trips, but in Olney you can be to D.C or Virginia in about an hour; there is always something new to do. Although Olney and El Paso are quite different, they have both instilled a common value in me, take

Right on pace. I took a glance behind me just to see 3 or 4 runners right on my tail. I imagined them as a hungry pack of wolves chasing a rabbit. Except I was the rabbit. I started to pick up the pace until I saw the home stretch. The freezing cold wind was starting to get to me. I couldn't feel my hands, even though I had gloves on. The only obstacle standing between me and about 6 runners ahead of me was a gigantic hill. I charged up it,

People nudging and spiking you, trying to get in the lead. I managed to keep my balance and finally react to the starting gunshot. I began running and now the wind was fully forcing itself onto me. As I ran down the hill the mud grasped my legs and pulled me down. My butt and legs landing on the pile of mud. Feeling the impact I slowly got up, but runners coming down the hill kept nudging me so I could repeatedly fall. As I looked to the other side of the hill, I could see my coach running towards

My story actually begins here in El Paso and has continued its course here as well. I was born and raised in El Paso and have been living here ever since. The most further back I can remebr of my child hood was when I started Elementar school at Clendenin. I mostly remember how I wanted to help friends or people that I could when i was younger but as a kid you really could not do that to well. As i grew up that feeling still was there but at this time I just felt like being an architect. Everything changed when I was in middle school and around the time Halo Reach the Xbox game came out. I was at a friends house playing games late and lost track of time, it was 12 and way past my curfew. His parents had left but I did need to get back home so I left walking home.

The growth I experienced during my time with the Houston Texans in my unique internship has been extraordinary. Professionally, I gained a voice that was missing at the start of the season. I have become more assertive and not so concerned with the repercussions, whether they are good or bad. I prefer a positive outcome and not a negative outcome.

“30 minutes on the clock!” everyone around us had mostly nothing done. All I knew was we were in good shape for this competition. Everyone around the North Shore team had almost nothing done. North shore team number 2 went to the board to present their MSOE hydraulic crane. They ended up scoring a massive amount of points. Everyone was cheering them on. “Next up, North shore middle school team 1.”

get set.. go!" called the sports master. The track blurred below me as I felt a large surge of adrenaline kick in. I sprinted faster than a blazing meteor pounding the damp grass under my feet. The fresh air that rushed in and out of my lungs soothed me and the delicious rush of wind streaking past my face thrilled me. My muscles stretched and pushed harder as I came around the curvy bend. The rapid miraculous beat of my shoes hitting the track released my accumulated anger and frustration. When I saw the finish line I dug even deeper and my legs made the track fly under me. My soul was at its summit, I was running and for the first time I felt free. I victoriously crashed through the ribbon well before everyone else and ecstatically fist pumped the air.

I saw the boys start and I went to the one mile marker. The boys seemed to run by so fast that I barely had enough time to shout out and write down their times. When I was walking up to the finish line, I saw the first runner finish with an unbelievable time. The boys from our team came in with good times, but not as good as the girls. I then walked over to them to congratulate them on their times. After, I was done talking to the boys team, then most of us on the girls team frollicked around while we waited for the awards ceremony.