Hey, y’all, and welcome back to Teen Scene in ENID MONTHLY. This past November, I was tasked with writing a short story for my NOC Composition class about anything you could think of, with the addition of one phrase that my class chose. Our phrase was “I never expected it to end like this.” I wanted to share my story with you, and I hope you enjoy it!!
Broken Stride
I never expected it to end like this. My senior season was gone, just like that. All of my hard work was out the door, and my ego was crushed. Let me start from the beginning. I’ve always been a great runner, from the time my parents first put me in a running club at 6 years old to my high school cross country season. I loved the feeling of my feet pounding on the earth and the rhythm my breath made with each step. I was praised for being number three in my state but wasn’t at the top spot I had worked for my whole life. “First female runner to ever place at the state meet from Enid High,” read the headlines of every local newspaper in my small town. The attention was everything I had ever dreamed of. It was like this every year of my high school career, but I still had a lot of work to do. I was set to run division-one cross-country at one of the top schools in the United States, if I placed first at the state meet.
I had a plan b, just in case the unthinkable happened. I was a fairly smart student with straight A’s and a schedule full of Advanced Placement and Honors classes. My father had always given me the idea of becoming an attorney just like him. This has always stayed in the back of my mind, but I was going to become a nationally known, college, cross-country runner. I have trained my whole life for it and have poured everything I have into being the first to cross that line.
It was late October, the leaves were changing colors, the air was chilly and crisp, and the ground was dry and dull. I had just finished my team’s regional meet with an amazing personal record. My best time yet by far! My coach encouraged me saying “You’re peaking at the right time, Sophia.” My teammates were enthusiastic, joyful, and happy about my accomplishments. I was ready to crush the State Meet and finally get a title. But life can change in the blink of an eye.
I don’t remember too much about the accident. One minute I was driving home, late, from a football game, the next, a drunk driver’s brights in my eyes. Everything went dark. I startlingly awoke to find myself in a hospital room with my parents holding my hand. Their eyes were puffy and bloodshot; I had never seen them like this. They immediately said I had been in a severe accident with another car. I did not hear them the first time they told me because every inch of my body was screaming in pain. The doctors came soon after I woke up and told me my situation could have been much worse. It did not feel like it though. My knees and shins were shattered, ribs broken, and stitches up and down my side like threading on my jerseys. I could not care less about my injuries though, I only wanted to know if I would ever be able to run again. Then came the words that would crush my heart. “You will be able to walk in a handful of months after physical therapy, but no guarantees on running.” I burst into tears. My escape from reality, heart and soul, the one thing I loved and my everything, ripped out from underneath me in an instant.
My teammates, best friends, and coaches came every day to check in on me. They brought lots of gifts and flowers as well as good company and positive, refreshing words. They would say the season was not the same without me and that they were running for me. I needed every nice thing I could get because physical therapy was exhausting mentally, physically, and emotionally. My therapist was very kind, but she did not sugarcoat anything. She told me these next few months are going to be extremely difficult and one of the biggest challenges I would ever face. I was prepared to take on this challenge as I would in tough races. Every step felt like a knife was being stabbed into me, and every movement felt like fire shooting through my body, but with each step, I was also just another inch closer to being able to walk. I could not even think about how long it would be before I would start running again.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. The state meet came quickly, but I tried not to think about it. My teammates placed well. I was really only thinking about what I would have accomplished though. I tried to be happy for them, and it was hard, but how could I not be proud of my biggest support system? I was able to come home a week after the state championship and continue my therapy at home. I slowly was able to start going on walks with the assistance of my dog, Elsa. Then I worked my way to a slow jog. It was painful, but I was close to being able to fully stride my legs to a run. My body was not close to the same as it was months ago, but I did not think it would ever be. My senior year ended quickly and without the state title I worked so hard for, but something more important replaced it. I did not just survive the accident, but everything that came to follow. The disappointment, the pain, and the feeling of being lost. While I may never get back to being the incredibly talented runner I once was, I realized that was not what defined me. What mattered were the obstacles I had overcome. I would keep running, even if it was not to my full potential, for as long as my legs would let me. Years later, when being sworn into the State Bar Association, I reflected on the dedication I spent on running in high school, the lessons I learned to overcome my injuries, and how I transferred that effort into my future career. While it was not in the original plan, my new dream had come true.
Thank you for reading my short story. I hope you liked it!! If you have any questions, comments, or ideas for upcoming articles email me at tweensceneenid@gmail.com. See you next month!!
