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Is anyone else excited about the Olympics?
Me, in the red, from my college swim days, cheering on another team mate.
Oh my goodness, I feel like a young girl again. The hype and build up of the games is not at all wasted on me. I know I am going to be hooked to the television and computer getting updates on how Team USA is doing. I am a pretty patriotic girl, but seriously, WOOHOO!
For me, swimming always has a special place in my heart. I started swimming competitively at age 10 and swam all the way through college. I spent countless hours in the pool practicing and swimming laps. My parents drove my sister and I all over the country to swim meets and competitions. We went to swim camps and clinics. We smelled like chlorine year round. We talked about splits, starts, turns, technique, times, suits and caps. It was our life. We loved swimming and still do very much.
When I was a teenage girl, I dreamt some big dreams. At the time, I wanted to marry Leonardo Dicaprio, be an acclaimed writer and swim in the Olympics.
Alright, deep down I knew that I would probably never go to the Olympics, but watching my role models compete in the games and do great things, made me want to work harder in and out of the pool. I needed to stay dedicated and focused to the goals that I could reach. I had to learn that it wasn’t always easy; that swimming was tough and so was life. I even took a break from the sport at one point, but I have to say, in my journey as swimmer, I really did learn so much in and out of the pool and I would never trade the hours I spent in the water.
That is why as a grown woman, the Olympics is something I really look forward to. I love the personal stories of hard work and accomplishment from the athletes. How could you not get all hyped up about something so awesome? Of course, I could be a little partial, because I love swimming, but I do find myself watching other events and feeling that same excitement.
I have to say, it does make me want to grab my cap and goggles and go do a few laps, and a few laps is probably all I could do.
Head over to www.london2012.com for all of the latest updates and information on the games. They have everything from a complete schedule, live updates, medal counts, photos and tons more. I just bookmarked it!
-Allison