A Passing Butterfly by Bryce Lecroy

Your favorite, but least favorite, part about cheering on your sister was the moment the gun goes off, and the pack of girls began to move. You stand still on the sideline, cheering your sister’s name, wishing it was you who was running the race.

You had to wait several minutes in order to see your sister run by once, and then, the wait began again for you to see her the second time. After what feels like forever, she popped out of the woods and made her way to the finish line. You jumped and screamed, hoping that she gets a PR. You felt jealous when she gets close to your PR.

You didn’t know how to reign in the jealousy you feel about your sister running cross country. You wanted to feel happy for her, to be proud of her, but you didn’t know how to with the jealousy bubbling up every time she mentions anything about running or cross country.

You know that you wouldn’t have this jealousy forever. Your sister is graduating high school in June 2023. She won’t run cross country in college, and who knows, maybe she’ll be like you and won’t even run for fun in college. You know that you have to wait a few more months for the cross country season to be over and for the jealousy to dissipate. You only have to wait.

Carolyn Carpenter is a junior English major at Lander University. She is a part of the Honors College and is a tutor at the Writing Center. When she’s not writing, Carolyn enjoys reading, watching TV, and spending time with friends and family. After college, Carolyn plans on getting her masters degree and eventually PhD in English.