While enjoying a weekend getaway in a cabin with friends the summer after I graduated high school, I made the fateful decision one morning to go for a run with Scott Metzger. Scott had been the fastest runner on our school’s league champion cross country team. I’d been the goalie on our school’s soccer team and was built far more like a linebacker than a trail runner. I gave it the old pre-college try for about ten minutes before falling so far back I could no longer see Scott. He was probably still carrying on a casual conversation, not realizing I’d stopped long ago to check my pulse for fear that my aorta was about to explode.
I was back at the cabin and reclining in pain long before Scott returned from his “easy six [miles]” looking like he was ready to build a house.
One of the worst symptoms of the anxiety surrounding college admissions is that many kids are afraid to try anything they might not be great at. If you can’t win, if you can’t be the highest achiever, it’s not worth doing because it won’t help you get into college.
That’s a terrible policy.
Hiding from potential failure is no way to stand out. And colleges aren’t interested in students who will limit themselves to only those things that come easily.
Discovering your natural strengths is one of the best ways to have a productive and happy high school career (the cross country team was probably as happy as I was that I called the soccer field and not the track my high school home).
But along the way, allow yourself permission to occasionally jump into something different with people who are much better at it than you. Whether that’s a class, a club, an activity or even just the chance to go for one run with the human equivalent of a gazelle, don’t be afraid to give it a try.
Once you give yourself credit for the effort and not just the outcome, you’ll probably find that the unknown isn’t so scary the next time. It pays to occasionally run with the best even when you can’t keep up.