There are things in life that have
meaning to us for short periods of time, as well as things that hold great
memories that are in pristine condition. Many similar objects can be found in
most homes, whether it be an urn of a loved one’s ashes or photos and family
portraits that preserve memories. But
often times there are those objects that are in rough shape and have definitely
seen their better days, but the owner of these objects simply cannot part with
it. Often these objects are a childhood blanket or teddy bear. We’ve all got
that one object that we can simply never part with.
My
‘object’ is a pair of running shoes. Yes, I have outgrown them. Yes, they have
seen better days. But for me, it is so much more than that. These shoes I wore
my senior year of high school. I wore these shoes when we won the league. I
wore these shoes when we lost All-Catholics. I wore these shoes when we
finished 1st place in New York State at Nike Regionals. I even wore
these shoes when I went undefeated in the 800 meters and became the league
champion.
These
shoes are neon blue with green strips. They are torn on the sides. I have bled
in them, sweat in them, and even cried in them. Defeat can be tough. These
shoes hold a lot of memories, and I know that I can always look at them and
think back to all of the great memories I had in them. These shoes helped me
get to where I am today and that is a Division 1 Collegiate athlete at Canisius
College.
And
if the memories aren’t enough, when I finally wore the shoes for the last time
and retired them, I had all of the fellow runners sign the shoes. My seven
other varsity senior teammates are preserved in the memory that lies within the
shoes. It is not the shoes that hold sentimental value, but the memories that
came with it.
