I'm a bit off the plan, so I ran 1.1 miles, walked for a song, then ran another .5 miles. I realized I do much better when there are other people around. As I was going *down* the evil hill, I ran into a suuuuper toned girl and her dog (poor furry dog, probably made for Alaska, not neverending NC summer!) running *up* the hill! Feeling her plight, I told her "good job" and got some extra spunk in my step :D My normal sprint down the hill was derailed by PINE NEEDLES! I was so scared of stepping on one, having it be so wet that I would lose my footing- have I mentioned my parents gave me the middle name of "Grace" as a cruel joke???- and lead to a hobbled me. Instead, I slowed down, carefully picking steps, losing my momentum. Ugh, I should never stop for walking, even if my abs do start to hurt during the run.
On a much more personal note, one of the main reasons I've always been intrigued by running is because of a dear friend I had in high school. My typical teenage job was working at a Midwestern food chain called Culver's. Oh the weight I gained with free/cheap burgers and ice cream! I knew some of the people that worked there from high school, including one girl, Laura. She played girl's soccer one year, until she moved to track as her spring sport, so I knew her briefly from JV soccer. Laura was a natural at running, kicking butt at cross country meets in the fall, and dominating long distance races for spring track. Her true mettle came out one day, tho, after she ran a half marathon. We'd been swamped at work, and were constantly texting and calling her, BEGGING her to come in and bring us to full staffing. After going and running 13.1 miles, she came in at noon and closed, roughly an 11 hour shift, all on your feet, all having to be nice to customers, not an easy feat, even on your best day.
For as happy-go-lucky and schoolgirl cheerful Laura could be, she was often deeply sad. Of course, there were the many times I let her copy my AP/IB Bio workbook because I knew she'd worked an evil shift the night before, but she would still be sad beyond the level of a girl as gorgeous, talented and smart as her should be, even if she hadn't done her homework or studied for a test. A few conversations I had with her were depressing, but having had a great life, but still had things that made me depressed and sad in high school, I thought nothing of it. After all, we both had great friends as support systems, and despite the divorced parents, we knew at least one of them would always be there for us (thanks, Mom!).
On October 28, 2005, however, the entire world realized just how sad this young woman had been. Her car was found at the bottom of a cliff in my hometown. The little red car she'd worked so hard to buy had literally split an oak tree in half as it sailed off the road down the ravine. If the impact hadn't killed her, the coroner found a lethal dose of cough syrup in her system. The opening manager at our work called her parents when they found what seemed like a goodbye from Laura on the front counter, only to have her parents discover she hadn't shown up for school, either. A hiker in the woods on the morning of the 28th found her car and alerted authorities.
Much publicity has been made about the "It Gets Better" project, with prominent gay figures pleading with LGBT teens to keep on living through high school because it gets better. While I realize this is a message aimed at LGBT individuals, I think it would resonate with so many teenagers contemplating suicide, for whatever reasons. At 17, Laura hadn't yet gotten to experience truly falling in love, crazy fun parties in college, conning a boy into asking you out, Facebook stalking said cute guy who asked you out, landing an amazing job, graduating from college, getting married to the boy who keeps falling for your traps, making him the proudest man alive with your new baby, traveling the world, and so many other milestones, interspersed with sweet little memories, and yes, some bad times that, like all things, pass.
From the Journal Star : Laura Craig had everything to live for. The 17-year-old Richwoods High School senior was an honor roll student and a champion cross-country runner who also had an artist's hand in ceramics and sculpturing. But beneath the polished exterior was a troubled teen. Craig, who authorities say had a history of depression and had been treated for it in the past, was found in her mangled car at the bottom of a ravine in Detweiller Park on Oct. 28 "
It gets better.
-Syd
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