Lately, I’ve been digging up pictures from my childhood and it was obvious in every picture that I am pretty awesome. No matter what the situation whether I was supposed to be in the picture or not, the picture ended up being about me. I know this sounds rather self-centered but growing up I had a strong sense of self. I knew how to make people laugh, smile or gasp. My Nana called me her little ray of sunshine. It wasn’t necessarily that I wanted all the attention on me. I just wanted a reaction out of somebody, positive or negative. Even if I knew I shouldn’t have done it, I did it anyways, and I didn’t really care what the consequence was. I guess you could say I pushed limits and my mom’s buttons often. Such as sticking my tongue to metal in -30 degree Celsius weather, throwing my underwear in the garbage at recess while wearing a dress, continuously dumping mom’s contacts down the sink, breaking my arm because I thought I was peter pan, well the list goes on but I think you get the point. I was quite the child. I was constantly curious about if I did “A” what would “B” be.
A prime example of how awesome I am.
And what can I say I have my parents and sister to thank. I am thankful that my parents allowed me to explore, imagine and become my own awesome self (and by awesome self I mean a young kid who ran around naked). However there were limits to exploring and imagining, if I did something outside my mom’s boundaries I was in BIG trouble (Such as don’t take your clothes off in public). Even with the boundaries set I was still pretty hard to manage and a free spirited kid (after all at the age of two I was granted the nickname psychobaby, which I’m pretty proud of). I thank my sister for hating me for the first 12 years of my life. (It’s odd to be thankful for I know) But you see I took away my sisters only childness away from her, resulting in a large amount of resentment, so I understand where she is coming from (but still slightly confused I know I took away being an only child but she got me out of the deal, I didn’t think that was so bad). I appreciate this part because all I wanted to do was prove myself to her and show her all the cool things about me, by doing this I learned what I was truly capable of. But she wanted nothing to do with me. I just wanted to be her friend, and by her friend I mean I wanted to be just like her. She was my ultimate role model. Everything from the way my parents allowed me to express myself to me wanting to be as successful as my sister, has shaped me into the person I am today. It ultimately comes down to the fact that I didn’t care what anyone else thought I was going to do it anyways.
Oh my bad, you’re reading this thinking, “Lisa, how does this relate to running?” Well hold on to your compression shorts. The experiences my family provided for me allowed me to try new things and push myself to limits, it didn’t matter what the outcome because at the end of the experience my family was there to catch me if I fell.
To me running is about being liberated from any expectations and being awesome, the exact things my parents allowed me to be. It’s about going for a run and learning a little more about yourself whether it’s how mentally tough you are or what your body’s limit is. Often times if you see me running I am giggling to myself (a mix of a runners high and how easily distractable I am), I know it may look odd but I am having a good time and whats the point of keep the goodness bottled up inside. Running is the awesome adventure I give myself. And the best part is that every run is different, even if I’ve ran the same route numerous times. It’s because I expect something different for myself each time. I am awesome because I was able to put aside the chaos and insanity of my day and go for a run no matter how long, far or difficult. I did that, I made the decision to free myself and eliminate the daily restrictions. I did all of this. And all of this is awesome.
trialsandtrails 