This I believe

The first time I ran from my house to the roundabout and back without stopping, I came home, and I threw up.

I was 14. I’d never even run a straight mile before, and the distance of that loop was 2.5.

The next day I was so sore that I couldn’t even walk, but 3 days later I went out again and this time I ran 3 miles.

3 days every week that summer, I pulled myself out of bed at 5:30 in the morning to run. And every week I would add another mile.

By the end I was running 10 miles a day.

See, if you’re going to run, RUN. Run until your body screams and it’s hard to breath, and then clench your teeth and go another mile.

The first day I played guitar, after learning TAB I sat in front of a computer for 7 hours figuring out how to play the Beetle’s original, “Here comes the Sun”. By the time I was done my fingers hurt so much that I couldn’t even text, but in the following months I started writing and playing must guitar on street corners.

See, if you’re going to play music, PLAY MUSIC. Pound into the piano so hard that the walls shake, and then go so quiet that you aren’t even sure if you’re still playing. Close your eyes, tune the world out, and play.

The first time I kissed, it was a make out. And it was nasty.

But this isn’t about 15 year olds trying to kiss and this isn’t about “working hard to accomplish your goals.” This is about personal investment. And passion.

There’s nothing I hate more than a public high school PE class. The coach says to run for 10 minutes, and everyone slow jobs. The coach says we’re playing dodge ball, and the game ends up being 1 part holding a ball and standing in a corner, 1 part chilling in the ‘out’ line, 4 parts wall hugging, and half a part actually throwing balls.

I want to see sprinting. I want to hear people cussing when they get out in dodgeball because even though it was just a ‘high school game’ that ‘doesn’t mean anything’ they cared. I want to actually sweat in PE class.

Everyone says you get out what you put in, and when we have such a limited amount of time anyways, why not put everything in? When you dance, take your elbows off your hips. When you play music in your car, turn it all the way up and sing along. It can take the same amount of time to go 3 miles slow of 5 miles fast, but down the line, the outputs are completely different. This I believe- when you run, go as fast and far as you can.