It is a new ritual. 4 hours before my race, I fill myself with pasta followed by two puffs of Flovent. One hour before, I drink a cup of water as I put on the feather-light singlet and shorts. Ten minutes before, I drink another cup of water and take a puff of my short-term inhaler. I am ready. It is real, the 2 mile, my first championship race since I acquired asthma. To my left, my archrival Willie, the one who lapped me again and again last season as I wheezed uncontrollably and my body shut down. As I offer my hand and wish him “Good luck”, I know that he will be the only one who needs the luck as I look in his eyes. He is scared. I am confident.

The gunshot blasts into the crisp May afternoon, reverberating like my buzzing alarm at 5am before yet another 10 miler on the roads. “Eight laps to victory”, I think to myself assuredly. My legs will throb and my lungs will wheeze, but I will be fine. As I pass the yellow-jacketed official on the second lap, I touch my nose. “The secret formula”, I think with a chuckle. Flovent, nasal strips, and chewing gum, the key to controlling my asthma and giving me my will to win.

I fly through the crisp air like a bird in flight, leading the entire race. Coming down the home stretch, I blow a sweet kiss to the crowd and kick in the final 100 meters. I break my personal record by 18 seconds. I am the state champion.

As I return to my team, an official, the same one who witnessed my asthma attack last season, stops me. I grimace, but know regardless the outcome, I have achieved my goal.

He takes a chocolate Tootsie Pop out of his pocket and exclaims, “That is the finest performance I have ever seen. Congratulations, son." I smile, knowing that I overcame my asthma.

The experience of overcoming asthma gave me confidence to push myself in academic and community pursuits as well. I challenged myself with harder courses, like BC Calculus and AP Biology, and excelled in them. I doubled The Shoe Project’s annual goal, from 2,500 to 5,000 shoes, and vastly surpassed that goal by collecting over 9,000 shoes for New Jersey’s underprivileged citizens. I knew that I could compete with elite athletes, even with my persistent asthma. Over the summer, I trained with 90 mile weeks to prepare for my best cross country season yet, running the fastest time in New Jersey and getting ranked among the top ten cross country runners in the nation.

After overcoming asthma, I know that with hard work, preparation, and a smile, I will be able to achieve my goals. When I travel to Harvard University next fall, my goals are to double major in History and Economics, win the Heptagonal Championships on the varsity cross country team, and remain active in solving social problems in my community. Though these goals may seem difficult, perhaps even unattainable, I know that I can achieve them after spending six grueling months trying to control my asthma.