Running, running, running

Running is my thing, it's what I do, it's what my life tends to center around, and it's what makes me happiest and maddest all at once. The thing is, sometimes I wonder why I let such a seemingly unimportant activity rule my life to such an extent. Millions of Americans do the same thing, especially teenagers. I guess we find pleasure in sports and other after school activities and that is what makes us so interested and eager to pursue them. Plus, we're never assigned an actual grade- the progress we make is soley related to how much we want to succeed on our own, and the only negative consequence we face is not improving or winning. What really made me think about all of this is how today at track practice I didn't run as fast as I would have liked, and it automatically caused my mood to spiral downward and a whole lot of frusturation. I felt like I'd obviously been slacking if I was running that slow during the workout, and I began thinking of all of the things I need to change in order to get faster. Not only this, but I felt like I was letting down my coaches, like they were upset with me, when all I really want is for them to be proud! These are the problems I battle every day as I run, but once again I just can't figure out why I place so much weight with my running. I mean running is probably not getting me into college, or getting me a good job, or building my future at all. I have to wonder if this is just an American thing, or if people all over the world go through this as well. Who knows!