We don’t Need Wings to Fly

My name is Ashwin Varadhan, and I have lived my whole life living in the same house and at the same school. I am going into my junior year of high school at Westminster School at Oak Mountain, and I have never had a thought about going to any other school due to the massive opportunities the school has provided me. Westminster has shaped me to be who I am, but the main impact that the school has had on me has specifically come from running cross country and track for my school. When I got into seventh grade I started running and I have not skipped a season since. My experience as a runner turned me into the person that I am today, and it will continue to shape me as long as I keep this sport in my life. The sport in itself is not what has changed me; however, it is the experiences it provides me, and the people with whom I share those experiences with that have the ultimate effect.

Some people who have had the biggest influence on me as I have grown up running have been my running coaches. They have taught me numerous priceless morals and virtues that will last me the rest of my life. They give specific attention to every single runner, setting an example for us to use in our lives as we grow up and get jobs of our own. While my coaches have been very effective in my life, my peers in running have been even more impactful on me. They are closer to my age, and the countless lessons we have all learned from one another are constantly built upon as we spend more time around those who can build us up as better people. The amount of time that we have all spent together is the biggest factor in giving us the connections with one another that we have attained up to this point.

On top of my friends teaching me virtues and lessons, unbreakable bonds have been formed between us that will carry on with us for the foreseeable future. One of the main reasons we have bonded so strongly is because we are sharing the pain of running with one another. Running presents some of the most challenging parts of our days, and when we are there to help each other through these difficult moments, it makes our friendships that much stronger.

Another reason we have these bonds is due to the amount of time that we share together. One example of this is our bus rides to and from track meets. With some meets being hours away we sometimes go as a team, and these team bus rides are a part of the experience of the sport that I would never be willing to sacrifice. These rides are part of what has grown us into the community that we are to this day, and as I come near the end of my high school years, I start to realize how valuable these moments are in my current stage of life

Running has a tendency to bring peace to my mind and that is huge when it comes to coping with academic responsibilities. Sometimes academics can be such a burden, and I have found so much of my stress being relieved when I can go out on the trails with my friends and take a run. This is a lesson that will immensely help me as I get into college, and academics start to ramp up. Running will be there to help me not lose momentum as I push through any struggles that I come by in my next few years in school. I attribute a vast majority of my academic success to running because without it, I would not be where I am today.

My whole running career has contributed massively to who I am and my success. All of this is based on my relationships with coaches and fellow runners as well as the important lessons running in itself has to offer. I would not have the life skills and knowledge that I have today if it was not for my decision to become a runner. Running requires passion and perseverance, and it cultivates these attributes beyond belief. In the end, the person I am today owes much of my current and future success to running, and how much it has and will continue to impact me as a voyage further on into my life.