Charlotte Almond is a sophomore in high school and co-president of her class. She is on the varsity cross country team and pole vaults during indoor and outdoor track season. She used to act at her local theatre but now runs lights and sound and does stage managing. She likes reading, baking, playing piano and hanging out with her two bunnies—Apollo Artemis.
In Charlotte’s first year at Girls Write Now, she explored creative writing, and animation. She also wrote a personal essay about her experience as a freshman on her high school’s running team during quarantine. With remote schooling, running practice was the only time she interacted with her classmates in-person. She was the only freshman or girl who came regularly, and was often left behind (literally and metaphorically). Charlotte wrote about what she learned in those months.
Being on my school’s running team has been one of the most formative experiences of my life. This essay tells the story of one of the important lessons I learned about leadership.
I wanted to explore the literal meaning behind overused phrases and metaphors, such as “pools of light,” “it was like time had frozen,” and “it felt like flying.”