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“The Cross-Country Runner” deals with the cognitive dissonance associated with claiming two places as one’s home. Both places I claim as home — California and New York — are extremely different; to me, they are placed on either sides of a spectrum. California is where I am rooted and comfortable. New York is where I am challenged to be a better, more confident version of myself. In regards to the title, I am definitely not an athlete but sometimes moving across country and traveling for short periods back and forth, feels like a race against time. Sometimes I’m out of breath from the pace (and from the weight of my suitcases). It’s a race to feel rooted in both but a resident in neither. I know this dissonance will continue — it’s hard to love two places equally and feel a belonging to both — but I’m just hoping this cross country runner will get better at her sport.