Evelyn Chow, Period 6, 9/22/22

 Modern Mythology 2023

Atomic Habits and Growth

• At this current point in time, what specific standards have you set for yourself? 

• How and why did you come to craft these standards? 

• How do you demonstrate resilience towards achieving these standards?

• How do you assess yourself?  What adjustments do you make? How often?

Although the school year officially started for everyone on September 8, my school year started much earlier. In the first week of July when track practices start, that is when my school year truly starts. Since freshman year, track has been an integral part of my life that I cannot imagine omitted from my high school experience. From the course of those three years I have spent on the track team so far, I found noticing, not quite fully appreciating, the efforts in which our seniors put into leading our team. From activities such as leading us into different running routes, driving us to races, and making core workouts after practice, our seniors were always ones who took upon these responsibilities. However, as each year starts, another one ends, and soon it was my turn to lead the underclassmen. This year, I want to be able to set good examples as a senior to the younger runners on the track team and properly carry out my responsibilities no matter how minuscule it may seem to be. The previous seniors before me all worked so hard to make everyone feel comfortable and included on the team, whether it be asking if someone was ok or rolling out their calves, and I feel that it is my duty to build the same positive environment for the underclassmen. 

Starting from the summer practices, I had already been expected to recognize the previous running routes we have taken in the past and be able to execute our workouts according to our coach’s instructions. But, covid had unfortunately taken a year and a half from my high school experience so I lacked the same proficiency in understanding our team’s regime that our graduated seniors possessed. Although a large majority of those workouts I was able to carry out without error, I found myself relying too heavily on my other fellow seniors on directions and clarifications. Running into the woods was definitely the most difficult as it was challenging to navigate between such indistinguishable plant life. I could barely manage to make my way in and out of the woods, let alone prevent my underclassmen from getting lost. I felt disappointed in myself for being unable to live up the expectations that are set upon the seniors and I strove to prove myself to be more reliable. Furthermore, I am by nature a quieter and reserved individual which deeply contrasts with the more cheery and outgoing nature that our team tries to uphold to encourage everyone to try their best. 

Over the course of the summer to now, I’m proud to say that I have memorized all routes in which our team runs (with an exception of one) and have interacted more with our new freshmen. During races, I have successfully set the pace for the people in my running group and enthusiastically cheered for the underclassmen in an effort to raise their morale and support them. I have also participated in the continuation of previous traditions on our team such as hand making hair ribbons for everyone on the team and decorating our annual workout book with pictures of our team. There are still a lot of other aspects in which I still fall short of like leading core exercises and drills, but I think I’m improving my leadership skills a lot more than I had in the past. I’m always trying to make more people on our team feel included and I make sure that I greet them every time I see any of them in the hallways. Building team spirit is important and it’s definitely a responsibility that falls upon me as a senior this year that I cannot shy away from. However, it’s still the beginning of the school year and I still have months left ahead of me to work harder to reach my goal of proving myself to be a reliable upperclassman.