A Lesson for 2019

Hello to Mr Young and room 126. As you may know, my name is Haley Gunn and I have changed. This may seem like a rather obvious observation, but I mean it in a spiritual meaningful way, rather than physical. In our lives we all go through major transformations that make us who we are. From our first walk to puberty I believe we all can find one thing that changed us for the better and gave us something to dream for.

For me, this change came with the introduction of the cross country team in our Sophomore year. In joining sports we are taught many lessons that can’t be taught in the traditional classroom setting. These life lessons teach us important ideals such as being a part of a team, endurance, perseverance, goal setting, and preparation. There are countless teachings we withdraw from our athletics, but for each person everyone takes something different from their experiences.

For me, joining cross country completely changed my outlook upon high school and taught me to be true to who I was. Coming into highschool I was a smaller, more timid, version of who I am now. Growing to hate school, and being sick in all of my other time, made my outlook upon life increasingly low as the year dwindled by. I lacked a purpose, a reason to look forward to getting up every day at 6 am to go to a school where the classes were too simple, and I didn’t have many friends.

To cope with this feeling, I decided to assistant coach at the middle school for the cross country team in my free time. It was here that I first discovered my immense love of running, and first met the new freshman teacher Mr Anderson. This may not seem momentous but this teacher and I shared a common interest that resulted in the initiation of a cross country team for the upcoming year. As freshman year came to a close, I looked forward in excitement to Sophomore year and the team I would finally be included in.

Looking from the present to the beginning of that promising year I look back in admiration over my three seasons and the countless hours devoted to what came to not only by my team, but my family. As a young sixteen year old girl, I could never have foreseen just how much I would learn from running, a set of amazing coaches, and legendary teammates.

Our first day as a team Mr Anderson and Mrs Stubbs laid out what we needed to do for the season. A list ranging from designing uniforms, to electing team captains, the months ahead were full of nothing but preparation and plenty of laughs. Assisting in starting a team apparently wasn’t sufficient for Mr Anderson because no sooner did team captain leave his mouth was he telling me to prepare a speech. At the time being an extremely anxious person I was horrified, but growing into the role I discovered how to be a leader, to make decisions, and created unbreakable bonds with my teammates.

Flashing forward to senior year I look back on my cross country career and smile at the memories and lessons I learned through “you run for fun, that’s crazy”. Picking up perseverance, and believing in myself led to what is now known as my “little dog syndrome” in the fact that I always have to win, and making it to the state level. I have realized that I’m an exhausting, impulsive, flamboyant person that will run myself to the ground (literally to the point of crying) and then get up singing (usually to the tune of country roads). My headstrong tendencies have also taught me to not attempt to bring down James Greenwood or Hunter Spencer in ultimate frisbee because it will always end with a collision, and that I am a psychic when it comes to weather and knowing how humid it is (even when Anderson doubts me).

With graduation speedily encroaching, I want to leave my classmates with a lesson I wish I had learned before halfway through my highschool career. This is that there is always something for you. Find what you love in life and hold onto it. Don’t be afraid to try new things or meet new people. Be true to yourself and your likes and you will find exactly where you are meant to be. For me, this was an inexperienced running team at a small high school in Maine. As graduation nears I will have to lessen my grip upon the family I have come to know and find my new path, my new reason to carry on and continue thriving. I know my path, now go and find yours.

Photo Taken by Abigail Davis (featuring Maggie and Tommy Grayson, and Abigail Davis)