Joining Girls on the Run seemed as simple as signing up for an after school program, but it ended up changing my life. I took away three valuable lessons from Girls on the Run: a sense of community, an appreciation for staying active, and a stronger sense of self. Before this program, I was a young girl struggling with making friends and understanding the challenges of relationships. Girls on the Run took me in and helped me learn valuable lessons that I wasn’t able to anywhere else. 

Learning the importance of being surrounded by a  group of girls who support one another truly changed the way I view relationships. Every week, we showed up to work through challenges together. We learned teamwork while also building long-lasting relationships. To this day I’m still in contact with my fellow Girls on the Run gals, and even one of my former coaches. 

Beyond friendship, this program has helped me learn to love being active. I’ve carried knowledge about healthy habits throughout my entire life and continue to work out. Even now I am active with my friends, we love to do that together. Learning how to maintain those healthy habits was rooted in my time at Girls on the Run. 

Although being active and keeping a community is so important, I now know that gaining confidence was the most long lasting lesson I learned. With social media, these days it’s hard to carry that strong sense of self. Lessons about the importance of self worth and love are the ones still remembered to this day. Whether it’s learning about boundaries or positive self-talk, I practice it every day. 

Girls on the Run truly changed the course of my life. Through the hard moments I’ve always remembered that I have people around me that support me and most of all, I can support myself.