Metaphorically, my journey as a cross country runner may properly represent the journey that I partook in as an English student this year. As the season passed, personal records were broken, lessons were learned, and work ethic was driven to the next level. These aspects respectively carried over to my year in English as a whole. Although, another aspect of my running career exemplifies my educational studies to a greater extent: my shoes. Torn and tattered, my track spikes have seen it all. They've taken on extremely steep grass hills, sloppy mud puddles, sharp-edged rocks, and shaky gravel. And, with these obstacles they've managed to cross the finish line several times, achieving the title of 3x all conference, 2x all regional, and 2x state mentions. Now they lay in ruins, rips in the upper, spikes ripped off, no traction, and nearly ripped in half. It's time to retire these beauties and move onto greater opportunity: new track spikes. This may properly connect to this year as a student overall, but particularly as an English student. Throughout the year I have continued to grow through constant grinding. I have gone through several difficult times in order to perform the best academically, and it has resulted in overall success, as you may see in my writing. Progression has led to optimal preparation for senior year and what comes beyond. And, just as it's time to retire my track spikes and move onto bigger and better options, it's time to move onto greater studies to push myself to the next level.