Back in my Freshman year for high school, I decided to sign up for a sport. I chose Indoor Track and Field. You see, not everyone sees this as a sport because it's mostly running. It was more than a sport, it became my life. And after I went to my first Track practice, I thought to myself: "There's no way I'm coming back". Well, I ended up coming back and I'm glad I did. I went to Colonie Central High School and it was a decent school. It had your typical jocks, cheerleader squad, the brains, the emo kids and all in between. I was more in the "I knew most people but, I wasn't popular" type of deal. However, that changed when I joined Track. Everyone started knowing my name. Well, more of my last name because the coaches called you by your last name majority of the time. Running felt like second nature to me when I joined. It felt great. When I joined Track and Field, I went for the running part. You had Shot Put, Discus, Long and High Jump and there was another one I can't think of at the moment. However, they weren't for me. I went for the Sprinter part which meant short distance runs. They were: 55m, 300m, 400m, 4x200m, and 4x400m. So, my first practice that I could remember was a little tough to see where you stood. I ranked in the "Not very fast, not very slow" area. I was okay with that. We had practices 5, sometimes 6 days a week. Most people quit but, I kept going. I wasn't going to give up. My first Track meet was at Hudson Valley Community College. I was extremely nervous yet excited. My mom and little brother were there. It was great having them there for support. It energized me more. So, the coaches handed out sheets of what we were doing. I was doing 55m and 300m. That wasn't too bad. Usually, the meets were about 4 hours. Of course, mines were at the near end. Throughout the day, we had to keep moving and doing stretches. They were always on us about that but, they meant good. My event came finally. The 55m dash. I was so anxious about the whole thing. The adrenaline flushed through my body and oh boy, I was shaking. It was my turn to run against the competitors. The referee started talking. He said "On your mark", I got into the down position. Next, he said "Set", I got slightly up a little. My body was frozen, waiting for him to shoot off the gun. Blam! went the gun. We all take off running. My arms and legs were in sync and I was running pretty good. I came in second in that round. I was so glad that was over. Then, I had to do the same for my 300m run. I came in second for that as well. Now, it was over. At the end of the meet, the officials posted up the results of the whole meet. For the 55m, I actually placed third. For the 300m, I placed fifth. That wasn't bad for my first meet. That rush felt amazing. I couldn't wait for more. And they did. The meets kept coming and I got better. I was proud of myself of sticking to something that I thought I was going to hate. I always say: Give it a chance. If you think you're going to hate it, at least give it a try to confirm your theory. I never gave up and kept going. I ended up coming close to the best. I went to out of state meets and State qualifiers. It was the best decision I ever made in my life.