by Caciques Katie and Tony

You have not fully experienced The Island School until you have participated in a run-swim, a morning exercise activity in which you rotate between running and swimming until you have completed the entire course. While finishing this exhausting form of exercise is extremely rewarding, getting through it is a whole other story.

I always know I’m about half way through the run-swim when I see a cement wall blocking my path.  It is easy to make this wall represent something symbolic in The Island School curriculum but when you come across it during your run-swim at the peak of your exhaustion, all that wall symbolizes is frustration.  As I swam towards the wall, I could hear the encouragement of my peers, waiting to help me climb over the obstacle and continue towards the finish line. Once I had pushed through the resistance of the water and reached the cluster of students ready to hoist me over, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by the stern cement obstacle that blocked my eyes from seeing anything further down the track, but I couldn’t afford to hesitate. Without thinking, I place my foot in the hands of a friend and pulled myself up and over. When the landscape came back into view, a new burst of energy came through me. I was halfway through the run-swim, and halfway through my journey here at The Island School.