Editing

Al Whitt

Writer, editor, photographer

Examples of Previous Work

Original Essay

Throughout the early part of my childhood, it was emphasized how physical health should be treated. School lunches were reformed to be more fit towards an ideal diet, required physical health classes to keep students active, and other steps have been taken to promote an exemplary lifestyle. For a while, I let this message blow over my head, I had never thought I could be a part of the issue. This couldn’t go unnoticed forever though, during recess I would always be the one watching from the ground while my classmates were hanging high on the monkey bars. On a field trip my 4th-grade year I was the only one wearing an adult medium shirt, and during my baseball practices, I would be the one finishing last during the running drills. All of these events led me to become at least self-aware that I was a part of the problem, but none led to me realizing a change was needed more than at a doctor’s visit when I weighed in at 178 pounds at just 12 years old. This led me to ultimately grasp that a change was needed, and that was when I vowed to better myself and take the steps forward that were necessary.

When I first started the new lifestyle, it was unbearable to me with such a drastic change. I couldn’t hold a jog for longer than seven seconds, and at school lunch, I tried to sneak in whatever snacks I could. Slowly though, I started to see myself develop into a healthier person. I was able to run my first mile months after I made the self-commitment, and was losing pounds weekly. My friends, teachers, and family showing support, noticing my physical change only pushed me more. Although there were challenges and setbacks, I was able to push through them and hit breakthroughs along the way. Earlier this year I ran my first half marathon, with hopes of running a full marathon by the end of next year.

Edited Essay

Throughout my school life, how physical health should be treated was emphasized by changing curriculums. School lunches were reformed to fit an ideal diet, physical health classes were required to keep students active, and healthier lifestyles were promoted. For a while, I let the message blow over my head. I never thought I could be part of the issue, but this didn’t go unnoticed forever though. During recess I was always the one watching from the ground while my classmates hung from the monkey bars. On a field trip in fourth grade, I was the only one wearing an adult medium shirt. And during my years of baseball practice, I was the one finishing last during the running drills. All of these events led me to become self-aware that I was part of the problem, but none led to me realizing a change was needed more than a doctor’s visit at just twelve-years-old, when I weighed in at 178 pounds. I knew a change was needed. That was when I vowed to better myself, and take steps forward.

When I first started, such a drastic change was unbearable to me. I couldn’t jog for longer than seven seconds, and at school lunch I sneaked in whatever snacks I could. Slowly, I started to see myself develop into a healthier person. I was able to run my first mile months after making the commitment, and was losing pounds weekly. My friends, teachers, and family showing support, and noticing my physical changes only pushed me more. Although there were challenges and setbacks, I was able to push through them, and hit breakthroughs along the way. Earlier this year I ran my first half marathon, and aim to run a full marathon by the end of 2022.

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