This past Sunday I found myself running a 5k in a purple tutu. Surrounded by 6,000 very happy people, I asked myself more than once what on earth had compelled me to get up at 5:45 a.m. on a weekend morning just to run 3 miles with complete strangers.
It wasn’t that the Color Run is famous for putting on non-competitive, party-like races promoting health and happiness. It wasn’t even to hang out with the ever-hilarious and brilliant PLA staff members who joined and formed our awesome company team. It really was because I was asked to do it, and I wanted to say I’d done it. So simple, really.
As I hit the third mile, I was hit with an epiphany. Running this race was exactly like taking a class at Pacific Learning Academy or getting tutoring help from a PLA teacher. Each student runs at their pace, and it’s not timed. We cheer you on and help you get the most out of the experience no matter your learning style, but if you need to walk for a minute and catch your breath, we just see it as a good time to high five and get ready for the next jog. Every student crosses the finish line and they OWN every step along the way, but it really doesn’t matter who comes in first or last.
Which is a good thing, because of all my teammates, I came in last.
Still, nothing felt better than crossing that finish line, and all I could think of was “When’s the next one?” That’s how our students feel when they finish Advanced Algebra or Spanish 2. What’s next? What finish line will I cross now? I can DO this!
No tutu required.
Pacific Learning Academy is a one-on-one high school offering single courses and dual enrollment, as well as full-time high school. We also offer hourly college-consulting and tutoring in all subjects from 6th to 12th grade, including SAT/ACT diagnostic testing and prep, either in homes or local libraries across the Eastside (Issaquah, Sammamish, etc…). See more at www.PacificLearningAcademy.com.