~:[CH12 - Day 277]:~ From the Shadows

 
~:[CH12 - Day 277]:~ From the Shadows

For each of our, our goals in life are different. For some, we want to be the best, for others, we just want to be apart of something and still others simply want a challenge in their life. As we approach each race, we always want to excel, but our definition of what excel in may differ. When will we be proud of our race or what exactly is our end goal that will leave us happy? Someone sent me a post that asked, what if we lived life like a cross country meet. Instead of being the best, some will be happy with a new PR or simply crossing the finish line. Some will build social connections with others on the team and who knows, they may end up married like a number of my former athletes. Others may simply want to be involved in something, want to take on a new challenge or maybe they just want to stay in shape. Regardless of their purpose out here, I hope that these athletes learn to persevere when times are tough, to connect with others and feel apart of something, learn that disappointments are opportunities to learn and grown, and  ultimately I hope that these athletes never give up and cross that finish line. While with the chaos of setting up on a course that was not ours and making sure all went well, I didn't get to see much of the races going on, however, I didn't need to watch much to know what was going out there. Many of these athletes were testing their limits, learning, growing, and testing themselves and ultimately, overcoming obstacles to reach that end point. For some, it takes a lot for them to realize that it's not simply about making varsity or winning, it becomes about finding yourself by coming out from your own shadow to find who you truly are. How do you find yourself? Through adversity, through exhaustion, through disappointment and through challenges, we end up struggling, yet in the process, we learn more about ourselves and ultimately uncover the person we are or can now envision the person who we could be. At the end of the day, we had some amazing performances and for some, they were disappointed on how things turned out, but there's no doubt that I was proud of them. Life in itself has been overrun with a toxic atmosphere due to egos, competition and rankings and I hope that together we can work on cleaning up this place so we can learn to appreciate each other and celebrate each other, from the person who excelled the most, but even more so for the person who overcame the most to get to that finish line. I am not someone who believe sin participation trophies, however, I do believe in applauding those who participate in a way that demonstrates why this sport is so amazing. There are many challenges ahead the next few weeks, however, in the process, I'll definitely remember not only those who won the championship, but also who championed perseverance and never gave up as they stepped out from the shadows.