Personal Statement
I have been running long distance for a long time, since I was a third grader. My mother had just started running to lose weight, and I always tagged along for fun. I really loved the idea of pushing my limits to better myself. I know that running at the NCAA level would be an amazing experience and something that I would truly treasure.
I started running seriously when I was in middle school. I was running both the sprints and the long distance races. I once had the fastest 100 and 1500 times in my city when I was in the 8th grade. This helped me build my stamina but also helped to develop the speed to close extremely quick on the last lap.
I have learned a lot of important lessons through this sport.There were times when I got injured before important meets and I felt like just quitting, but through persistence and determination, you can always get back up. This mentality helped me get back at the times when I was down, made me place second in the 5000M Tokyo high school track and field championships, run the fastest time in my leg in the Tokyo High school Ekiden ( long distance relay race) championships and run times that I never thought would be possible when I was just a kid. And it is one of the things that keeps me driving and looking forward to the future.
As a student, due to my Japanese-American background, I have always been interested in other cultures. I‘ve learned to speak two languages, but I want to learn more and be able to communicate with many kinds of people. And by learning new languages, I want to get exposed to new ideas and new ways of thinking. I want to learn how to approach social problems in Japan with the knowledge that I gain, while also being the best athlete that I can. In college I want to major in International relations or International studies, and I believe that the experiences I’ve had since I was young and the hardships I went through running has prepared me to balance academics and athletics at a college level.
