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“I’m a living thing, I will die, never to be born again. That is my motivation” [100m]

For the past 3 years, I have been studying Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science at university level. Having finally completed all three, it is time for the next step. This time, I will be working on Theoretical Physics and Mathematical Science at the University of Utrecht, hoping to dive deeper into specifically the physics and mathematics behind innovative computational devices. Once again, I am getting closer to becoming the inventor I want to be. Once again, I will continue.

The movie 100m asks us “Why do you run?”. This is a question that has been on my mind throughout it all, but only now do I really have the time to think about it deeply. From the moment of my rebirth, I have been running, and it has both lifted my spirit and cleared my mind. This is not the reason why I run, but the benefit I get from it. The adrenaline you get from running is thrilling, and pushing yourself until your legs give out is a feeling of ascension. The rule is simple: keep running. It is delightful in its simplicity; it is symphony and it is quake. The flywheel of becoming spins ever deeply in its wake. So then why do we run?

Is it not fever that makes our head grow hot and our mind grow full? In this floating state, nothing is done yet the body leaves nothing unresolved. Is it not fever that keeps us running?

Is it not frost that makes our body shiver and our hearts cold? In this frigid state, do we not ever search for the least bit of heat in our actions? Is it not frost that keeps us running?

Is it not love that makes our heart beat fast and our eyes see bright? As your hands caress the body of your lover, your heart beats ever faster. Is it not love that keeps us running?

Is it not gaze that makes the real real and the imaginary also real? As the gaze of the people falls over us, the world grows and grows and grows. Is it not gaze that keeps us running?

Is it not music that makes our feet tap and our hips swing? Do we not lose ourselves in the rythm as harmony and emotion and company blend into one? Is it not music that keeps us running?

Is it not pride that keeps our heads high and our soul higher? As we feed ourselves on pride, we fill our head and empty our stomache. Is it not pride that keeps us running?

Is it not flow that opens the heart and empties the mind? When flow is reached, the world around can completely be forgotten. Is it not flow that keeps us running?

Is it not death that signifies the beginning and the end? Only when we take our final bow does applause thunder the halls. Is it not death that keeps us running?

Is it not childhood that makes the world large and wonderful? Through the eyes of a child, everything becomes adventure and play. Is it not childhood that keeps us running?

Is it not art that moves us to our very core? Art is image and connection and conversation and word. Is it not art that keeps us running?

Is it not rebellion that sounds the drums of war and thrusts its fist into the air? It makes the heart and mind and soul louder and more refined. Is it not rebellion that keeps us running?

Is it not god that commands us from above while surrounding us below? In the machinery of god, can truth and meaning and value not be found? Is it not god that keeps us running?

Is it not power that keeps our selves above the rest and our values alive? Without power, the outside rivers flow freely into our seas. Is it not power that keeps us running?

And as we run, we continue, on and on and on and on and on, until there is nowhere left to run. I am complex, I contain multitudes. What may one day be my reason for running will soon be given up for another. I cannot give myself just one reason to run, and it is impossible to state this reason in a singular word, phrase, article, book or library. What I do know, however, is that all of the reasons listed above are deep feelings that speak from my soul, and that I will want to experience them to their fullest while I am still alive. As I run, these feelings come to me in waves, some stronger than others, but all of them invigorating like a bolt of lightening. So then, if I did have to state one singular reason to keep running at the pace I am going, it would be as follows: “I run to experience the vast multitudes of emotions and ideas my heart, mind and soul can experience while I still have the chance.”.

So, I will keep running into the following year, and the year after that, and the year after that, hoping to fully lose myself to it all once again. The challenges ahead of me will be greater than I have ever experienced, but is it not precisely this that gives life its charm? As long as you have a why, you can bear any how. Keep pushing forward, I will continue.