Gonzalez 1

Bianca Gonzalez
Professor Ditch
English 113B
18 February 2015
Finish Line
Being a member of my High Schools cross country team opened the doors to a new
culture. It all started with a simple thought of joining the schools cross-country team. This
simple thought seemed impossible but I knew I wanted to do try something new, exciting, and
out of my comfort zone. Trying out for the cross-country team was a challenge and I knew that
was just the beginning. I kept showing up to tryouts because the intimidation of others did not
stop me. I later found out I made the team and it was a great feeling that I was one step closer to
the things I wanted to accomplish. Other than softball and cheer, I have never done something
like cross-country. The dedication I put into this sport was more than any other, it was harder
than I ever imagined but that is how my passion for this sport grew. Cross country is now part of
who I am. Cross-country has given me the opportunity to be determined and focused. It has
taught me to work my hardest to get to the finish line. In this culture I was also able to change
gender norms by not having just a group of males in the team but having girls as well. Being
part of a culture where I was allowed to interact with nature gave me a way to find peace with the
outside world.
When I share with people that I was a cross-country runner, most of the time their
reaction is shocking. The idea of girl whos only 411, with a background of cheerleading and
softball was not the image of a usual cross-country runner. A cross country runner is viewed
often as a thin person, with really long legs and running experience. I can see it in their face that

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they doubted me that I would be able to do the long runs along dirt trails, but when I saw this it
motivated me to do my best at each practice. As my passion for cross country grew, my skills got
better, and I was able to improve my personal record week after week. When we had our first
cross country meet I remember being so excited, but nervous at the same time. At the meet I tried
my hardest and never gave up. I ran as fast as I could across the finish line. I was not the first one
to finish nor was I the last one to finish. The day of my first meet was the day I realized how
much I fell in love with the culture of being part of cross-country team. Being able to pass the
finish line gave me a since of self-accomplishment. I was not only proud of my self, but was
proud of everybody who passed the finish line because not like cheer, or softball there were no
winners and the losers. In cross country everyone who stepped foot on that finish line was a
winner, and have accomplished something big. My love for running, kept me going even when
there was those people that did not believe a Latina with curves and little legs could not pass the
finish line. At that moment I knew I did not only prove to myself, but to others that to be a part
of a cross country culture there is no certain image. In My Hips, My Caderas it mentions But
still, I dream of the day when bicultural Latinas will set the standards for beauty and success,
when our voluptuous caderas wont bar us from getting through those narrow American
doors(Rodriguez 75). Rodriguez wants to be able to fit in both of her cultures not just because
of her body, but because of her intelligence. In my cross country culture as well, I want to be able
to show that to be part of this culture it is not about the way you look or the things you have done
in the past but what you are capable to giving to the sport. It is about the determination and
dedication that made me part of this culture.
Changing gender norms in the cross country team at my high school was a way to get
females to represents athletes at school. Our cross country team before was full of males who

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represented the team. By having girls be part of a cross country culture it would change the
norms at school and start to persuade more girls to try out for the team. Being part of this culture
I knew that there would be gender issues. I was afraid that due to my gender it would be harder
to be in the team since the team was all boys. On Night to His Day it was stated that One way of
choosing people for the different tasks of society is on the basis of their talents, motivations, and
competence-their demonstrated achievements. The other way is on the basis of gender, race,
ethnicity-ascribed membership in a category of people (Lorber 55). In this case gender was a
very important fact, because our cross-country team needed more girls and my gender was a
benefit. There were other factors that also took place into changing that like Judith mentions
talent. I was able to show my talent of long distance runner when I tried out. Being able to be one
of the few first girls to be part of the cross country team gave me pride on the things I was doing
within my culture. Changing the gender norms did not only change it for that year, but I
motivated more girls to try out for the cross-country team. We were a team that was very
supportive of each other not only during our practices but at school as well surrounded us. When
Im not surrounded by my cross-country culture I still demonstrate my culture with others by
sharing my experience. Sometimes many think that a though sport like cross country can be done
by males better due to the fact that our team before was just males. When looking at gender
someone is not really intimidated by girl because they dont see it as competition. Being an
athlete has demonstrated me that it does not matter what gender you are, it is the hard work and
skill you have that makes others see you as part of a cross country runner. The Politics of
Women's Biology states that a girl was able to break a males record in a marathon the dramatic
improvement women runners made in those twenty years clearly came with practice but no doubt
also required changes in their expectations of what they could achieve(Hubbard 123). Hubbard

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is right the expectations of woman have to change in order to achieve a goal. Many of those
goals are similar to the males goals like crossing the finish line. The beautiful thing about cross
country is that within this culture there were many opportunities to interact with different gender
roles and demonstrate to each other what we were capable of. With our minds set to achieve our
goals of being part of the cross-country team many girls and myself were able to change the
gender norms in our high school.
Before I decided to be part of the cross country team it did not cross my mind to go to the
park and relax or enjoy the nature. At that point in my life I did not realize how important nature
was, and how it can impact our lives. In our cross country culture we are sounded by nature most
of our time. We get to go on hikes, be around trees, go to the parks, and sometimes even go for
runs near rivers. This culture made me open my eyes to what was outside my comfort zone. I was
always around my school work and so focused on getting everything perfectly done, and thats
when I would reach my point of stress. Cross-country changed it all. Being part of this culture
had not only made forget about the things going on in the outside world that made me stress out
but also pushed me and gave me energy to be a better person. My journey did not end when
cross-country season ended. I will treasure this culture forever and will keep sharing it with
people I meet. When reading Self-Identity and Culture it was stated that self-identity, therefore
is never cemented, but constantly changes or is challenged as people expose themselves to more
people and shape ideas abut their sense of self(Jackson, Glenn, Morant Williams 126). Self
identity is never set it will change with the experiences someone faces. Thats what happened
with me, I was able to experience something amazing as being part of a culture of a cross country
team that I was able to acknowledge how much I loved being around nature and relaxing.
Therefore my identity falls as someone with a passion of running.

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A culture can completely change the way someone sees the way of life. Sharing my
experience of being a cross country runner has shown that it will remain part of the person I am.
Due to this culture I was able to gain determination, through hard work, and set goals like
beating my own personal record. This culture is so important to me because I was able to change
the gender norms not only for the year I participated but also to influence the following years to
have more girls be part of the sport. Everything started with a simple thought that later was
accomplished through actions. This culture does not have an image, it has a group of hard
working teammates with a vision of success. Therefore success does not rely for others to believe
it, but its for you to believe that you can do it.

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Works Cited
Glenn, L. Cerise, Ronald L. Jackson, and Kasha Morant Williams. Self-Identity and Culture.
Pg.117-135.Print.
Hubbard, Ruth. The Politics of Women's Biology. New Brunswick, 1990. Print.
Lorber, Judith. Gender and the Social Construction of Illness. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications, 1997. Print.
Valdes-Rodriguez, Alisa. My Hips, My Caderas. Pg. 73-75.Print