Blog 1/23: 🏃Pray for My Knees🏃

Before we jump into things, I quickly want to wish everyone a happy Happy New Year and that I hope your 2024 is full of fun times with family and friends (and AO )! Now onto the blog…

Those who know me quickly learn that I’m a hardcore fan of three things in the world: Bruno Mars (finally got all his vinyls), Seek Discomfort (do yourself a solid and look up Yes Theory :)) and sports (shoutout to the Knicks!). Honorable mentions go out to K-dramas, Texas Roadhouse rolls, Aruba, the MCU, bagels, Funko Pops, One Night Werewolf, etc. etc.

So when my intro-level sociology teacher asked us to name something we’re passionate about when introducing ourselves in our first class of the semester, there were countless things I could’ve said. And as the very first person to go, I didn’t have much time to ponder on it so I just went with the first thing that popped into my head: running. (Not a surprise for anyone who’s met me before heh)

This year actually marks my 10th year since I started running, and while I’ve taken my share of breaks — the pandemic and distance learning exhausted all motivation — running has been a pretty constant factor in my life. It’s a beautiful sport whose appeal is hard to grasp (at first) but it’s the winter breeze on your cheeks, the sweat drops trickling down your forehead, the burning in your lungs during a track workout and soon after, the tightness of your calves that has kept me drawn in thus far. And I’ll continue to willingly subject myself to the various pains runners experience because I love it.

My schedule this year is a case in point. As a follow up to my previous blog last spring, the fun courses I chose for my junior year have all involved running: Marathon Training, Triathlon Training and Running and Health Awareness — bless Matthew Gawors. Now call me crazy, but I’m a firm believer that we’re all born to run.

So to everyone reading this, I challenge you to get out there and go for a run if you’re able. It doesn’t have to be “fast” and you don’t need to go for a marathon distance so blast some “Runaway Baby” and embrace the discomfort. And if you ever need a buddy, I’m always down  

Jessica Kwok

Copy Editor