The Journey of Change by Anthony

The Journey of Change by Anthony - February 2017 Scholarship Essay

I sit crouched in a small lane on the track. My feet glued to the back of my starting blocks, and my head leaning over the start. I take a sharp glance to my left and right, inspecting my competition; seven other runners from different schools. I look up and see my obstacle, one-hundred and ten meters of hurdles. I take a deep breath and everything becomes silent. I am ready. In an instant, a cannon blares through the air, and I soar. The date is April 29th, 2015, at Murrieta Valley High School. I remember being very excited and proud, but also very satisfied in how I came to be in Varsity. It took a lot of sacrifice, it came with many obstacles, and it required hard work and perseverance.
Practices for Track and Field were Mondays to Fridays, starting at 3:00 p.m. and stretching to 5:00 or 6:00 in the evening. Also on Saturdays; which most students look forward to sleeping in late, I wake up at 6:00 a.m. to get to practice by 7:00. These exercises restricted my time to work on homework and project deadlines, as most days I would arrive home at 6:00 or 7:00 in the evening and be totally exhausted by workouts. Eventually, this had a negative effect on my grades, as I struggled to balance academics with athletics.
It came to a point where I was failing three of my classes halfway through 2nd semester, during spring break, and I had no idea how to get out of the hole I was in. I had no way out. Because of my failing grades, I was no longer eligible to compete in any more of the Track Meets, and felt ashamed to come to practices due to this failure that I let walk over me. I came close to just quitting my effort in trying to bring my grades back to life, and throw away my promising season of track.
But that just wasn't, and isn't, who I am. As soon as I got back from spring break, I began asking teachers questions in the middle of class, staying late after school hours to make-up low test scores and essay, working late on my computer every night for weeks to be ahead of the curve and seeking advice from my peers on what I didn't understand. Eventually, each and every one of these individual activities raised all of my grades to passing. I was so excited and could not believe that I had come back from being so far gone, and neither could my coach; who had never seen an athlete who had come back from being ineligible to resume competing as I had.
I had stepped foot back on the track I knew well, but had not quite been introduced to in an actual race. I stretched out and waited for my event to come, anxious and excited to once again be able to partake in a sport I loved, and worked so hard in academics to be able to compete in. I feel the cold shock of the wind as I take off from my blocks. My soul running just as much as my body. The most irresistible smile creeping over my face as I had realized I had reached my goal. I had succeeded in both academic life and in sports. From that point forward, I began doing things that generally frightened me before, like talking to my teachers about help. I know that the end goal for me was succeeding in all of my classes and sports, however, the accomplishment I treasure the most is the journey. Looking at my situation, not being satisfied by my progress, and standing up, and doing something about it.