My entire life, I have never been big on running. Growing up, I played just about any sport imaginable, the majority of which were heavily reliant on running. I loved the sport, but hated conditioning.

Running was the worst punishment imaginable, and I knew a lot of people felt the same way. Done bad in practice? An extra lap around the field. Made a bad play? Extra sprints. Running was the biggest form of punishment in each and every one of my sports.

I dreaded the runs. Internally, I thought I wouldn't survive. Runs were rough. Until now.

Since my ending with sports about 3 years ago, I have found myself going on a journey of self discovery. It's been such a battle for me; I was so in love with my sports, that I had a major downfall trying to figure out what to do with my life after I had them ripped away from me.

It took me years and years to discover my enjoyment for running. I had tried to find things I loved that were not athletic, because what I truly thrived on was the competition. I always felt empty, and did not enjoy anything nearly as much as I enjoyed athletics.

It was heartbreaking, and it was soul crushing. What was I supposed to do in life? How was I supposed to move on? Nothing seemed genuine. I didn't feel much passion at all anymore. It was extremely discouraging.

I never would have imagined that running would be what would bring me nearly as much fulfillment in my life, until it happened. I hated running on my own at first, but the more I did it, the more I began to fall in love with it. And, best of all, it is something that nobody can take away from me.

After having my sports torn from me, I worried about not being good enough, in essentially every aspect in my life. It is a battle I am still fighting constantly, but with running, it's something I never have to worry about, because it's all about bettering myself. I always want to run further and faster, and it's something I continuously feel so proud about, as well as continuously progress in.

It challenges me both physically and mentally, and I love it. I have taken interest in races to get back into the motivational competition aspect of a sport, and it's so inspiring. I am always competing against myself, and the only person I am trying to beat is myself. Knowing that I am able to push myself and always amaze myself is so inspiring, and I could not be happier that I picked up this passion for running.