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| Team Huddle after the Practice 5K. |
Little moments and small occurrences that mean almost nothing to other people can have huge impacts on us. They can stop us in our tracks and put life into perspective. I was not having the best day on Monday. I was stressed out, and to be honest, I was feeling sorry for myself. A lot had been going on, and I was letting it affect my mood. I went to Girls on the Run, and although I was happy to see the girls, I was still in a “funk” as my mother described it when I was in high school. We did the lesson, warmed up, and began to walk to our running “track” (the parking lot). That’s when the moment happened. It was the smallest thing, but it cheered me up incredibly. One of the girls who I had gotten closer to over the past few weeks came up to me as we walked to the lot. First, I need to mention that the 5K is this Saturday and every girl chooses a “Running Buddy” for the race. Most of the girls run with a parent, but this child’s parents could not be in attendance. On a previous day, she opened up to me about her father passing away, and on that day, she told me that her mother had hurt her ankle. I was on the fence about running the 5K. I have already gone over the required number of hours and running the race would mean driving to Keeneland at 7:30 on a Saturday morning (Caturday specifically). She looked up at me with hopeful eyes and asked if I would be her “Running Buddy” – such a simple request but such a meaningful one. It stopped me and made me reflect. Yes, I was having a bad day, but that didn’t matter anymore. In that moment, my role at Girls on the Run became clear. I am making a difference in the lives of these girls, and I would not trade that for anything. There was no more thinking to be done. I am running the 5K, and I am running it with the sweet little 9-year-old girl that has shown me how to appreciate life. She has not had the easiest life, but she is happy and making the most of it. Each child at GOTR brings a different quality to the group, and each has something different to teach me. As we come upon our last meeting, I am hoping that I have taught and impacted these girls as much as they have for me.
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| Our GOTR Team after our Practice 5K Photo by Naresha Howard |
I understand how you feel from my own experiences at Step by Step, when a child singles you out as the one they want to be a larger part in their life everything else seems to fall into perspective. There is obviously a deep bond between you and your "running buddy," do you plan on staying in touch with her in any way after this semester? Also, seeing as the time has already passed, how did the race go? Regardless of how well you guys placed you are definitely having a positive impact on this girl's life, and the lives of other girls in the program.
ReplyDeleteYes! It's an awesome feeling. To answer your question, yes I do plan to keep in touch. I actually plan on volunteering with the program and hopefully the same school next season! The race went awesome. We finished the 5K in 39 minutes and had a blast doing so! Thanks for the comment.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand being in a "funk". My mom used this term countless times, and my automatic reaction is to roll my eyes whenever I hear this phrase. But now I've learned how being in a "funk" is just selfish. When you see someone else in a worse situation, it really puts things in perspective. Waking up at 7:30 on Caturday definitely doesn't sound fun, but I'm sure it was worth it to put a smile on the girl's face. I'm sure that there's days when you just don't feel like running and they don't either. How do you motivate them? Also, do you run with the same running buddy every week or do you switch. I feel like after a while, a stronger bond is made to one person, and then you can have more of an impact.
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