I’m going to be a junior in high school this year and fall sports have already started, but I have the opportunity to still join cross country. I’ve done cross country in middle all three years and I’ve been running a lot more since quarantine and I’ve found I really do love running ( I stopped running in freshman and sophomore year). The thing is, I’m going to be pretty busy this school year with all my classes (I’m going to be taking 3 AP classes also), playing with my quartet, playing with the orchestra I’m in, and I also applied for a paid internship, so I’m not really sure if I can take all of it.

I really enjoy running and I’d really like to at least try cross country, but I’m really nervous about how other people in it are going to view me. I feel like everyone pretty much hates the new kid, and plus I’m really not that fast compared to all the other kids. I can run like a 8.30-9 minute mile while a lot of the other kids can run a mile in like 6-7 minutes. I want to join, but I don’t want to be deadweight to them (that’s my main concern). I think I can honestly somehow handle my schedule, I’m just mainly worried about joining and how the others will think of me. Should I go for it and join?