Senior Stories: Brendy, Committing to the Long Run

Brendy is a part of SRLA’s Class of 2022 and an SRLA scholarship winner. Because of SRLA she learned to stay committed to be able to reach her goals and learned she can do anything she set her mind too. Brendy will be attending USC and majoring in pre-occupational therapy with the goal to have a career as a speech therapist.

Brendy at her high school graduation!

Participating in SRLA has influenced me by teaching me how to stay committed to my goals even if they’re really challenging. This is because it taught me how to push myself into completing my goals and forming my mindset into “if I can think it, I can do it.”

Brendy and her mother at Brendy’s graduation.

When I would see all my other teammates finish before me or after I felt warmth and happiness because it was a goal we all completed and there was a lot of support between one another. There were some of us who wanted to give up but we told each other that we were almost there, that we could do this, to not let all of our training and hard work go to waste. This caused me to be more united and supportive with my teammates because as the captain I knew I had to be an example. I stayed committed and always tried my best and didn’t forget to have fun. It was fun when we would finish our practice runs like for the half marathon. We were all exhausted, especially me because it was my first time but after we would go buy food. As exhausted as we all were, everyone was full of joy because we were all hanging out and relaxing.

My experience with my family and my coaches while participating in SRLA has actually been great. For example, with my family, my stepdad would always drop me off early for a practice run with my team or an actual marathon event which helped a lot because I don’t really live close to my house and it would be dark outside. The experience with my coaches was really great because they taught me how to be a good leader, how to manage my time, and would always lift up the team’s spirits when we were tired after school due to training. Overall my experience in participating in SRLA was great because everyone around me was very supportive and I made many memories along the way. I will cherish the feeling I felt when I finished the LA Marathon. Being congratulated by my coaches and seeing how proud my family was of me made me realize I’m capable of anything I set my mind to.

Brendy with Griselda, an SRLA Running Them In volunteer, by the LA Marathon finish line!

Rapid Fire!
My favorite race has been…
Surprisingly the LA Marathon because I was able to finish it and experience my longest run ever. Even though it wasn’t easy (the hills) I had a great time! I loved how everyone was supporting each other and it felt like a big family on the road. Especially at the finish line because it was like Fate when I met one of the SRLA Running Them In volunteers, Griselda. Griselda is Guatemalan like me and had the Guatemalan flag on her which is something I wanted to run with but wasn’t able to bring that day.

Something I can’t run without is…
Probably my earphones because I need the background noise as silence makes me overthink and with music I can jam out on the road.

A special SRLA memory was…
When I got my first medal after the 10k which was my first experience running after a long time. I thought I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the other runs since they were longer, but I reminded myself of what my mom always tells me. She always tells me, “Nunca dejes nada a medias.” (Never leave anything half done.)

My favorite artist/music I like to listen to while running is…
It all depends on my mood. I have my Christian music that keep me going when I run and my Latina songs like bachata or romantic songs that make my mind wander into the lyrics.

YOU CAN HELP STUDENTS LIKE BRENDY LEARN HOW TO STAY DEDICATED TO REACH THEIR GOALS!

Donate, volunteer, sponsor or run with our students to make a difference with SRLA.