Senior Stories: Shelly, Restoring Balance through Running
Shelly Garcia has been running with SRLA for the past two years! She has recently graduated from Robert Fulton College Preparatory and was awarded the SRLA Scholarship this year. This scholarship will help fund her academic journey at the University of California, Irvine, where she plans on studying Biological Sciences. Learn more about Shelly’s SRLA journey in her own words here.
Shelly running the 2024 Los Angeles Marathon with her best friend.
I have dealt with bad anxiety and insomnia. During the pandemic I lost my grandma and that affected me so much because I saw her as another mother figure in my life. I had fallen into bad depression and developed an eating disorder. Once I noticed how bad it was getting, I was seeking to find something to distract myself. I noticed that working out helped me clear my mind and was a healthy way to cope with my mental health struggles. I never saw myself running, I was one of those kids who hated running and saw it as a punishment. I heard about SRLA through cross country, and joined mainly for the free stuff. I was able to slowly recover and start focusing more on the present than the past. If I had a bad day I would try to see what I could do differently if I had a similar situation. I began to use my skills learned through running and applied them to my everyday life. Running has allowed me to have such a stronger mindset when I'm on the course and even on my daily tasks. Running has taught me that it is okay to take things slow if needed and it's okay to take breaks. Knowing my family and friends cared for me also helped to have motivation to do better.
Shelly’s High School Graduation Outfit for the Class of 2024.
Shelly and Coach Maylnn celebrating her high school graduation together.
“I would like to thank my coach and teammates for always being there for me and making this experience i’ll never forget and will always cherish. ”
Shelly and her best friend running together during the SRLA 30K Run.
Being in SRLA has shaped me so much from being a person who never saw themselves running to completing two marathons. My mindset has never been this strong ever since I started to train with SRLA, which came to a surprise as I didn’t expect it to strengthen. I was always shy to go up and talk to others but throughout these two years SRLA has provided me with another family that I care for so much. Now, whenever we have a new runner on the team I go to them welcoming them to the family, just how others have done for me. I started off my first year with running the races alone and with music. Then to finish my last year of running with my best friend and enjoying every race no matter how much we were struggling. I was inspired to fight till the very end by my teammates' support and the examples of courage set by my coach and leaders. My family was there for me at every race, supporting me from the sidelines no matter what. Knowing how much they cared for me with this throughout every race is what gave me the courage to continue and see the smile on their faces while I crossed the finish line. Getting those medals made the pain worth it.
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