Madison Lowe

To be a runner means to possess the qualities of determination, strength, eagerness, and perseverance. In the 6th grade, I moved from Orlando to Atlanta and started at a school with everything being so new to me. I was curious about many different things, including making new friends and finding new hobbies to pursue. Soon after starting at the new school, a friend of mine sparked my interest in joining the cross-country team, so I did. From there on, I have taken on the passion of running because of things that it brings me, such as joy and a sense of accomplishment and completion. I have now been running for eight years and throughout those years, I feel that running has shaped me as the person I am today. It has taught me many life lessons that I do not think I would have otherwise learned. For instance, one of my coaches favorite sayings was “No Pain, No Gain.” I took those words to heart in not just a physical way, but also an emotional way. Sometimes you need to push yourself in order to achieve or to grow back stronger. I have definitely applied this idea to my relationships, academic work, and of course, running. Specifically, as a writer, I think that it is important to push myself to keep improving my work, even if I believe it to be finished. In my mind, it is never finished. There is always something that I can do to make it better, more pronounced. That way, I can continue to climb the ladder of success and become the best version of myself possible.