My Literacy

Like most, when I think of the word literacy my mind automatically goes towards my english classes, poems, papers or readings. This may be because the word has more than one definition, one being “the ability to read or write”. Although, there is another meaning that changes the words interpretation around, “Competence or knowledge in a specific area”. This means anything you consider yourself knowledgeable about is a literacy. Everyone encounters different literacies in their lives. One literacy I consider myself substantial in is the sport Track and Field, specifically the running portion. Unlike most sports Track is an activity that uniquely involves individual and team aspects unlike any other sport. I have been fortunate to have participated
I needed something to push me to stay in shape and increase my speed. By the end of my freshman year track became my number one interest. During my first year I mainly did relays so my nerves would stay down. Relays allow your win or loss to fall back on a team of people rather than just yourself. Yes, If you are in an individual event you still have your team cheering you on, and supporting you like any other sport. However, relays allow everyone to share the glory or disappointment at the same level as you. My senior year I was able to make it to sectionals in both a relay and an individual event. The difference between the two outcomes was celebrating alone vs with others. Another benefit about the sport is you get support from both the girls and guys team. For most sports the guys and girls seasons are opposite, and if they aren't, they are still completely different programs. For track our funds are separated but we practice and compete together all season. Since we compete with both boys and girls teams our meets consist of over 600 competitors. 600 people means for a lot of commitment. Typically meets go from 3pm to 9pm, and it’s expected you stay for the whole meet even if your event is finished within the first
Track has taught me to put my team first and remember that everyone deserves a high five after an accomplishment no matter how bad you feel you did yourself. In the beginning of the season you are put into a certain running category-sprints, middle or long distance. You spend most of your time with those who are in the same group as you. Every race counts for your whole team's overall score. Losing doesn’t hurt you, but winning is what makes you competitive. If you aren’t happy with your finish, your team still might get points, for which you have to be happy about. Until you get to regionals, your individual scores don’t really count towards anything, besides your own achievement. All that matters until then is your team's outcomes. You learn how to want to succeed for more than just yourself, which has been beneficial for me in my life overall. In the end, it is a team sport and you represent your school as one. Although your individual outcomes make up the team scores, you must think beyond your own performance. My goal all four years of track was to get to state before I graduated. My senior year I had a chance, all season long I ran the 1600m relay (four girls run 400m). We were predicted to make state if we ran the four girls we have been all season. When it came to the regional line up, our relay wasn’t on there. It turns