I met someone today. After months of being the new kid in school, I think somebody has finally befriended me. The weird thing was it wasn’t even difficult. It just happened. I guess I wouldn’t have needed to wait this long to actually get to know someone, but being the new kid in school hasn’t been easy.

So here’s the scoop. Since Mom has been nagging me since the beginning of the year to pick up an extra-curricular, about two months ago, I finally decided to take up track. I have always loved running. Back at my old school, I would love being chased in football because I was never caught. My older brother would ask me to keep him company when he’d jog around the block. Anyway, we had our first meet today, and I think I could actually be good at this. I ran the 400 meter dash. I think it’s funny they call it a dash because it’s such a tiring race. One day I might understand. I won my heat and incidentally won overall for the freshmen. Coach was satisfied with my time, but he didn’t say much.

But here’s the best part. A varsity senior came up to me and said, “Great race! If you stick with us, you could be really good in a few years.”

He started telling me about the aspects of the sport, and I told him about how I moved here last summer. After a few minutes he had to warm up for his next race, but he told me he’d see me at practice tomorrow.

It feels rewarding to have talked to someone and felt recognized for the first time since moving to this strange new town. School has been difficult, but I believe that actually participating in something could change all that. It’s amazing how one person made such a difference.