As time moves forward to the next week of practice, I caught myself thinking about the word “ascension.” Describing the word can be as simple as just climbing to the top, but I wanted to dig deeper.

I always considered myself curious even as a child. When I   was only 5 years old, I was curious about locks and how they worked, so I climbed on top of the doorstep and played around with it. My mother was upset of course, but I was very interested in how things function the way they do. 

Fast forwarding to now, it’s interesting seeing how my curiosity peaked being who I am now. All my thoughts and goals I need to achieve this year are centered toward curiosity and ascension, but for now, I have to focus on the week ahead. 

As Monday rolled around and the first day of school started, I went on a walk before class to reflect on the meaning of ascension and how I correlate that word to my everyday life. 

The first step was adding change into my life, and going on walks was the best way to do so. I found between waking up early in the morning and getting prepared for the day ahead of me. 

Seeing different people walking their pets or just people walking was intriguing to me because everyone lives a different life. Heading off to my first class, Murrow News Service, I focused on staying in the moment and finding ways of bettering myself which translated onto the track.  

I found it a challenge early on to practice coming back from winter break and transitioning to Pullman. With the week being centered on cardio and getting back in shape, I found myself in a hole dealing with muscle tightness across my right hamstring and pain in my lower back. 

As I woke up at 5 a.m. Friday morning, my motivation to compete went out the window as I was tired from the hardships that the week provided me. I was more nervous this meet than I was in the last meet due to the fact that my body was not on par with my competitive mindset.

Entering The Podium in Spokane once again, the cold weather struck me as I got off the bus with my sore body. However, I tried firing myself up while doing my warm-up by listening to music. 

I was desperate to get myself fired up any way I could. As I did my warm-up jumps before competition, my body felt frail, but the word “ascension” could not stay out of my head. 

“What does it mean?” I thought and I realized while jumping, ascension during competition means reaching just past the surface. 

The word provides more questions than answers, but that is where curiosity is a factor. I was curious about how hard I can push myself while feeling this pain.

Everything else played itself out as I was jumping bars with ease. As the competition moved forward, I found myself once again trying to set a new indoor personal best height of 6 feet 8 inches. I fell short once again, but all things considered, I found myself in a positive light. I was more optimistic than upset about the results I achieved in the meet.

Staying optimistic and positive about things in life is the first step of ascension. I find myself struggling with that, but coming to terms with results is not negative, acceptance is one of the main forms of positivity. As I took off my spikes and left the building to get myself something to eat, I couldn’t help but be happy as I stayed consistent despite the challenges I had to endure.