Personal Statement
My world froze every time I stood in front of a mirror. A mirror that held the representation of disappointment and laziness behind it. I was 14 years old and close to 190 lbs standing at a short 5´6. As a teen, my biggest nightmare was not a ghost or clowns, my biggest fear was a mirror and a scale. I had trouble talking to people because of my lack of confidence. I isolated myself from others just so they wouldn't have a chance to criticize me about my weight. I knew that I could not live a happy life if I kept the same way of living. One day I decided to join my middle school track team despite me being one of the slowest runners at my school. I was hesitant to join, until my 7th-grade teacher passed by and said, ¨What? Gio on the track team? The last time I saw him run was when they serve burgers at the cafeteria!, his words motivated me to prove him wrong and become healthier.
I kept running with the track team and working out at home because I lacked confidence to workout in a public gym. I kept with the workout routine and eating healthy and as the months went by, I started to notice changes in my physical appearance but others didn't. My perseverance eventually started to pay off, I started to lose weight and keep it off. The weight-loss started to improve my track performance. By the end of the season, I accomplished a huge milestone of mine running in a school track meet and for once not coming in last. I ran the mile and for a heavy guy like me, at the time that was a challenge and it was one of the first challenges I did not fail at. This accomplishment motivated me as the days went by to tackle anything that life has to offer. I started to have more confidence, and I began to walk with my head held high not afraid of the facial expressions that people would have whenever I'd pass by them.
I ended up losing 50 lbs by the beginning of my freshmen year and my peers noticed. I started to take on bigger challenges and bigger roles in my school. One challenge was starting a Cross Country team in my school with one of my former teachers Cross country was a running sport similar to track and my passion for the sport was high due to what the running and fitness have done to me. I wanted to make sure there was a cross-country sports team available in my high school in order to give my peers the ability to challenge themselves and improve physically and mentally. With perseverance and determination, my teacher and I were able to have our cross country team certified to have a season by the beginning of my sophomore year. The team has since qualified for sectionals two out of the three years it has been certified and the team has offered students a form of camaraderie that one cannot find anywhere else and I am glad to be part of that.