Undergraduate / 'Running and not quitting' - common app 150 words [2]

Any thoughts and opinion? please be harsh.

Two hours a day, 6 days a week, running has completely taken over my life, and I have allowed it to. My knee has endured the constant striking of a hurdle leaving multicolored bruises, a muscle strain in my back from the inability to quit high jumping, and shin splints that have taken over my legs.

Although running seems to have only caused me pain, I am unfamiliar with the term of quitting. I find to much joy in competing, finishing an intense workout, winning because my hard work during practice has paid off, and the lifelong friends I have made along the way. I run to escape reality, to cope with situations that deem stressful. Running has consumed the past four years of my life, and I have never regretted it for one moment.

Undergraduate / "On your marks, get set, go!" UVA favorite word 250 word [NEW]

i would love any feedback (NO matter how harsh) on my uva essay "what is your favorite word and why." Please if you hate it tell me.. id rather start a new one than submit a crappy one. i accept all feedback and take into consideration what you have to say, both negative and positive ones

"On your marks, get set, go!" The gun fires and I set off. After two miles of running, an excruciating pain strikes my foot. With one mile left of the race, I push forward ignoring its presence. This excruciating pain proliferates to my calf and attacks with full force from all directions. My breathing becomes short and my lungs, in dire need of oxygen, feel weak and to the point of collapsing. As I cross the finish line, exhaustion forces me to the ground. At this point, I stare blankly at the sky above me and realize how perfectly excruciating describes my life.

The word excruciating evokes a painful feeling. Typically expressed in a negative connotation, "excruciating" ironically presents itself to me as pleasant and comforting. Although the idea of being in pain seems to weaken most people, the fact that I am able to push beyond my limits, enduring any levels of pain, is a rewarding feeling. It is a word that I have unintentionally acquainted myself with; a word that conveys a universal feeling able to sympathize with whoever uses it; and a word that the tone significantly impacts the degree of affliction.

While the word excruciating is often viewed negatively, it somehow manages to find its way through my chest cavity, pass my rib cage, and into the core of my heart. "Excruciating" holds a significant value. It serves as a reminder as Robert Frost once said, "The best way out is always through."