The Zombie Who Learned to Run

I'd been operating on zombie mode since sophomore year began. Up at 6:00, AP Bio homework until 11:00 PM, repeat. My friends had started calling me 'The Walking Dead' as a joke, but honestly? It wasn't far off.

Then everything changed on a Tuesday night when I couldn't sleep. My brain was buzzing with unfinished college essays and social anxiety, so I did something completely out of character—I laced up my old running shoes and slipped out the back door.

The streets were empty, the air cool against my skin. I started running without a destination, just legs pumping, breath coming faster. Something about the rhythm felt right, like I was finally in motion instead of stuck in place.

I ended up at the old quarry pond, the water reflecting the moon like a spotlight on a stage. I stood there, sweaty and alive in a way I hadn't felt in months. That's when I realized—I'd been running from the wrong things. Not toward.

The next day at school, my best friend Maya noticed something different. "You're actually alive today," she said, not even asking where I'd been. "What's up?"

"Started running," I told her between classes. "Like, actually running. Outside. At night."

"You? The girl who considers PE a constitutional violation?" She laughed. "That's unexpectedly badass."

That night, I went back. The water rippled as I sat at the edge, phone on silent, just breathing. No notifications, no expectations, no zombie autopilot. Just me and the sound of my own heart, finally slowing down enough to hear itself think.

I'm still exhausted. I still have three tests on Friday and my college counselor keeps emailing about deadlines. But now? When I feel like I'm drowning, I know where to run. Not away—just outside. Into the dark. Until my legs burn and my lungs remember what it's like to really breathe.

The zombie mode still kicks in sometimes. But I'm learning that coming back to life isn't about never feeling dead inside—it's about knowing how to run toward the things that make you remember you're alive.