... the mighty mighty Panthers!
In the aftermath of NBL Finals and my last race ever as a member of this team, I just want to say how incredibly proud and humbled I am to run with all of you. The four long years I've spent with SRHS Cross Country feel like the blink of an eye in retrospect, and I'd give anything to go back and get to do it again, and again, and again. Every hour, every minute, every second of it was amazing, and every practice changed me for the better.
From the first Slurpee Run I ever went to, I knew I had chosen the right team. I felt loved from day one, a part of a whole. I had glorious seniors to look up to, and care-free freshmen comrades to fraternize with. Without the strong anchor of Cross Country to tie me down, freshman year might very well have been far choppier sailing.
And now those glorious seniors are me and my friends. And the time has come to say goodbye to Cross Country. To Camp. To my heart and soul for the last four years.
I can't do it. Not yet. Maybe by the end-of-the-year party. Maybe never.
I love you, Panthers.
--Avi
I'm so so sooo so sad that you are leaving!!!! I'm going to miss you so much ... along with all the other seniors!! It is just to sad that all of you are leaving ... and it will be to weird not to have all of you here next year!!! I think you guys made all of us, as a team feel, important, wanted, and above all special. I think that ment a lot to all us. I wish the best for all of you! Take care!The team and I will miss you lots no doubt about it. People on cross country are like my second family... you can come to them for help, and trust they will be there for you. And when family members leave... all of us are sad. But at the same time... we wish you have a great life ahead of you. I love you all!
ReplyDelete--Emma
1. Avi, that was incredibly well written and I couldn't have said it better myself. We had a great four years and running was a fantastic part of high school. I will look back on cross country as a very happy part of my young life.
ReplyDelete2. I just had to comment on this because I couldn't stand the blog saying "1 comments."
Well, now it has 3 comments...
ReplyDeleteAvi, the fact that you would write something so cool makes us all love you even more! Stop it already! :-)
Thanks for 4 amazing years (track season still on the horizon!)
And I expect to see your 2nd draft before the party. :-)
Carrie
Your comments are all so sweet! Gahhh! :) Thank you for filling me with warm feelings of goodness.
ReplyDelete5 is a very lucky number in many prehistoric societies. So here goes post 5. Avi you have summarized 20 years of Cross Country Athletes at Santa Rosa High School. And even before that. I firmly believe that Neanderthal man swore by Cross Country. He had to run for his life. And so should we all. But running with friends and family and teammates made Neanderthal man into modern man. And so we must continue the human condition and run. Let's enjoy the pleasure we all get from that special run or workout. But most of all let's enjoy those with whom we ran and run. I was never able to enjoy the run or workout with our recent teams because of my physical setbacks but I will never forget or fail to be inspired by the runs and workouts all of our teammates participated in. After all WE ARE THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME!
ReplyDeleteI have a bit more to say about all of the above and more but that has to wait for the end of the year party.