How Running Helped Me Turn My Life Around

I’ve never been an athlete. Besides being good at all academic performances at school, my main goal was to ________ PE lessons at all costs. In my twenties, I went for an occasional yoga class, but that was really the ________ of all my athletic

That was until the end of 2016, when I was unexpectedly fired. The possibility of getting a new job soon was not in my ________ and dark thoughts of not being good enough started to ________. I was feeling depressed but pushed myself to go and ________ for the TCS Marathon runners as the course was going through our neighborhood.

However, while being there, I got extraordinary ________ from all the runners, smiling and applauding constantly. Not a runner myself, I thought maybe I could give running a ________, just to try to use my neglected gym membership and see where it ________ me. And so I tried. I went to the gym the next morning and got on a treadmill. I was breathless by minute five, but I slowed down, walked for a bit and then restarted. I came back the next day, hoping to ________ a few minutes longer. Two weeks later, I could successfully run for 30 minutes.

While I saw my body look more toned (协调的), I also noticed my negative thoughts didn’t occur that ________. And it sparked a thought—what if I could set a running goal and sign up for my first race? I did and races sort of became a new hobby.

In the meantime, I secured a few freelance (自由职业的) projects. They offered me a good ________, and most importantly, the time to work out for the big race. I got my full-time job ________ at my dream company just several weeks before the half-marathon. Although I got an injury before the race, I still went for it and finished within my ________ time.

I still have a long running ________ ahead of me—I’d love to work on my speed, my technique and I dream of running a marathon outside of the US. Running gives me ________ that I can do anything I set my mind to.

I had watched our new refrigerator being delivered, and then I did what any child would do with a huge box - turning it into something wonderful. In my case, it was a _______ where I was going to help people.

Over the next few days, I readily _______ everyone I saw. Our dogs and cats, along with Grandma, made up the majority of my _______.

My box room _______ pretty quickly after that, but the dream stayed. _______, it went into sleep for a while. After graduating from high school, I couldn’t _______ to go to university. So I decided to work and take _______ classes instead.

Though years passed, my _______ didn’t. As I worked job after job, I always managed to set aside _______ time and money to take college classes at night. Over time, I received my first college ________. As my regular jobs ________, so did the amount of effort and funds I could spend on my university classes. Before I knew it, another college degree had been ________. And so it went, after working for years and ________ every part of education, I acquired my eighth and final degree. I ________ became a doctor as I had wished.

________ is a joyful lifelong process, and I managed to reach my goal over the years by taking one class at a time.

Hesitantly, I stood on the doorsteps of an unfamiliar louse-L’Arche,and was about to meet my new _______ . Stepping through the door,,I was _____   by several ladies. One took her hand out of her mouth to shake mine. I remember holding her _______ hand and wondering if I was really ________ for what lay ahead.

L’Arche is a home for developmentally delayed adults,_________ helping them experience love through a sense of ________ . My new home consisted of two assistants, including myself, and four developmentally delayed ladies. I can best describe my “job” at L’Arche as something ________   to a nanny（保姆）.

My day began around 7 am. We spent the ________ changing diapers（尿布），giving baths，helping the ladies get dressed and eat. After breakfast I _______ the ladies brush their teeth. Next, it was laundry time. By 9 am I was _______ enough to have a rest.

When I first read about L’Arche, I _______ the chance to be a part of it. I had always enjoyed helping people with special _________ in a 9. to-5 job. But living with them 24 hours a day was totally _________. . I quickly discovered I didn’t have as much love and patience as I had _________ . The unpredictable things made each day a(n) _________.

However, I knew that my housemates were__________ themselves in the best way they knew. They didn’t get many of what our culture considers “ _______”cards. They were no stranger to pain or illness. They had every reason to be __________ , but they weren’t. They trusted me with their true selves.

When I arrived at L’Arche,I thought I had so much to offer. But apparently. it became the ________. My housemates offered me more than I offered them. They made me realized I needed to slow ,down and _______ the simple things in life.