His cross-country season was cut short, he rarely sees friends and the only way 18-year-old Thomas White has been able to connect with his teachers this school year is through a computer screen. But during a senior year largely defined by COVID restrictions, White still has one vital outlet — the ability to step outside his family’s home in South Boston and run.

“On this, my 12-mile city run, I have an active goal to smile and acknowledge every single person I see,” he writes in his college essay, in which he describes the physical and mental challenge of running — and its reward.

“The rhythm of the run can and often is soothing. I never bring headphones on this route, I don’t want any distractions from my thoughts," he writes. "I seek the space running gives me to just be me.”

White is one of the high school seniors chronicling this school year as part of GBH News’ COVID and the Classroom series. With academics disrupted and many students unable to access other typical application requirements like standardized testing, colleges this year are placing added emphasis on personal essays as a way to better evaluate applicants. White, a senior and cross-country track captain at Boston Latin School, explained in his essay that running is an essential part of his identity and something that keeps him grounded.

“In a world where I am constantly bombarded with the tiny details of everyone’s lives via their social media posts, it is really easy to find myself lacking. My family doesn’t go on lavish vacations, we don’t eat out at restaurants multiple times a week, I’ve never been to a concert," he writes. "Seeing what others are doing all of the time can be overwhelming. Running allows me to escape all of that, it connects me to others and to my community. Most vitally it lets me focus on me. Running is my happy place, where I can be grateful to be me.”

White was able to visit a few college campuses before the pandemic, but has yet to see the college he’ll attend: Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. He won a Posse Scholarship that will cover the cost of his tuition and he plans to run track there.

Watch White read from his college essay in the video above. Video by Greg Shea, text by Stephanie Leydon