Who are you? 

Hi, my name is JonJon. I’m currently a Junior, and this is my third year at ASIJ.

What are your hobbies? 

I’d say my favorite thing to do is run.

What’s your history with running? Why do you run? 

During third grade, I was really fat. My mom noticed this, and encouraged / forced me to run at least 3K daily. Slowly, my extra weight disappeared, until I could tie my shoelaces without struggling to bend over my belly anymore. I ran occasionally and quite casually after that, until my freshman year of high school, when I joined ASIJ’s cross-country team just to test it out. 

I’d say that’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. When I started really committing to running, during the quarantine season of freshman year, my one and only goal was to gain a six-pack. But now? I’d say it’s the people. 

A lot of people say that sports like track and cross-country are individual sports, which is certainly true in most aspects. But because of how tough running is, there’s a tight camaraderie between all of us. We want to make each other proud, and this motivation is what pushes us to give 110% each practice and race. Out of all the clubs and sports I’ve explored in the past, the bonds formed in cross-country have resonated with me the most deeply.”

Do you have any other hobbies? 

I really like reading and writing. 

Can you elaborate on your history with reading?

To be completely honest, I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with reading. While fantasy novels have always interested me since childhood, anything beyond Harry Potter always bored me. When reading autobiographies or informational passages, everything just tends to slip through the crevices of my brain, until I can’t remember what I’ve just read in the last sentence. I recognized this problem in freshman year, and it’s an ongoing process to incorporate all types of reading genres into my daily life.

Have you noticed any differences since beginning this? 

Definitely. Something I’ve become better at, but still learning how to improve in, is conscious reading. What I mean by this is reading every word with intention to understand, rather than skimming through the content. Because reading difficult passages is a constant Q and A, I find myself asking a lot of questions about my life these days, as opposed to the passive mindset of before. Why is Kiosk food so expensive? Why did Mr. Berg give me a Proficient? How can I fix these issues? Yeah, I’d say my perspective on the world, as well as my willingness to change it, has grown exponentially as my reading skills have improved.”

What are your future goals? 

Some of my goals for this year are to run a half marathon by June, and try to read something new every week.