Strength, Sweat, Swag

Racing over rolling hills and mud, the three words running through my mind during the entire Westminster Invitational were "strength, sweat, swag". I have no idea where the word "swag" came from, but it kept thoughts of cramping  off of my mind. The pouring rain and wind made the hilly course extremely challenging, causing everyone on the team to run more cautiously. I went from a 25:13 on Tuesday (my fastest time so far for this season) to a 25:26.  I was  inspired during my race by a slogan imprinted on the shirts they were selling at the meet  - "Too tough 4 time-outs". My repeated alliteration as well as the shirts' slogan kept me from stopping during the race.

After a wet 45 minute bus ride back to the school, during which rain continually dripped down from the roof, my mom picked Kristina and I up. Promptly upon arriving home I devoured a bowl of rice and red beans before taking a hot shower. Once I was clean and dry, I happily curled underneath my sheets and drifted into a well-earned nap.

I resurfaced back to consciouness after Kristina maniacally threw a pillow at my face, asking me if I wanted to accompany her, her friend Tina, and Erin to the Farmer's Market. Muttering some kind of affirmative answer, I slipped on my shoes and  accompanied the trio of freshies. It was during this walk to the Farmer's Market that I dubbed a new term - "swambling". A combination of "ambling" and "swag", it describes the way that many teenagers move from point A to point B. This kind of walking is reinforced by the shoes of the "swambler", which are usually  slides worn with socks, untied converse with the laces tucked into the shoe, or flip flops. (I just checked the dictionary to make sure that my new word isn't some kind of sick allusion or curse word.)