Senior Stories: Benjamin, Invaluable Lessons from SRLA
Benjamin’s graduation from Elizabeth Learning Center.
Benjamin is a SRLA Scholarship winner! Benjamin has run 4 marathons with SRLA, and will attend Azusa Pacific University.
My experience in Students Run LA was the best years of my high school life. I started off high school really shy, but I always knew that after having club rush a tour school, that SRLA was one of the clubs that I want to join. Even though I have been at ELC since Kindergarten (K-12), everyone was so new to me. I didn’t know anyone and I found that really awkward. But after the kindness that my coaches and my fellow running peers gave me, I started to break out of my shell.
Given that the first year was going to be hard because I had never run that much until then, they never stopped encouraging me and telling me to finish until the very end. After the first year, it was smooth sailing from there. I knew the courses, I knew my coaches and I knew the people from the year before and from my class.
It influenced me because I have a very hard time focusing because of my ADHD, running really has helped me out with that, at home and in school. With having to be on time for practices and on race days, my coaches have helped me manage my time wisely. So now I am able to do my homework the day before instead of the class before, and I would never miss practice because of it.
“If you want to run a marathon go do it, the only person stopping you is yourself.”
Benjamin and his SRLA teammates.
The sense of community and family that Students Run LA has given me throughout the years was amazing, that I wanted to do the same once I am out of high school. I want to be able to give back to the program and still support them even in the hardest times because that is what the program did for me. The program taught me to be patient, considerate, kind to others as well as to myself, and overall just to have fun no matter what is happening around you. Life is too short to be worrying about the little things. If you want to run a marathon go do it, the only person stopping you is yourself.
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