Meaning of Running Michael Jin

The dust billowed down, coating my face and the inside of my lungs as I ran. Ahead, Heartbreak Hill seemed to stretch into blue infinity. My senses deadened by fatigue, I almost missed hearing the voices. They grew louder and louder and suddenly I could distinguish my name -- my friends were cheering me on. I wasn't alone. My feet lifted, my back straightened and then I was soaring. My first cross-country race showed me half of an essential truth: a confident spirit promotes strong running. But it was only recently that I grasped the second half: confident running promotes a strong spirit -- I run, therefore I am. Each day that I come home after school to run an hour and take a cold shower afterwards, I am expressing both my academic and personal values. The same courage that let me overcome my fatigue in that first race allows me to finish a gauntlet of physics problems followed by a marathon reading session of Thomas Hardy. The same defiant drive that pushed me up Heartbreak Hill propels me through daily life. Some educators say that kindergarten teaches all the essential life lessons. Running is good review.