sunrises and sunsets, etc.

If I had to choose between sunrises and sunsets, I would definitely go with the former. Sunrises are full of hope and renewal; the beginning of a day means the opportunity for adventure and progression.  Plus, fewer people see them so they are more special.  However, I really like days when I'm in a position to see both the sun rise and the sun set--like today.  They are the perfect bookends to hours chalk full of productivity.

Moving on...

I absolutely ADORE the Olympics.  Always have. Always will.  My first Olympic memory was the 1996 games in Atlanta.  My eight-year-old eyes were mesmerized with athletes like Kerri Strug sticking that famous vault, Michael Johnson with his gold cleats, and Amy Van Dyken winning four gold medals in the pool.  I'd just started club swimming in 1996 and while watching my favorite American athletes stand with gold medals hanging around their necks singing the national anthem, I decided I wanted to be an Olympian.  In fact, I calculated that I would be in the prime of my swimming career during the 2008 games.  Consequently, after every journal entry until around the age of eleven I wrote "2008" as a reminder of my goal.

Shortly thereafter, I was rudely awakened out of my naiveté.  No one explicitly told me I couldn't be an Olympian, but somehow I looked around at the other swimmers and decided I was too short, too slow, no natural talent, and there was no way I would even make it to collegiate swimming, let alone the Olympics.  I decided I would spend my life watching athletes win and lose from the couch; I lost the dream.

Most would say life finally smacked me into reality.  And they're probably right.  The percentage of athletes that actually make the Olympic team is minuscule.  I really am short.  And I really don't have much natural talent.  But I often wonder what could have been if I hadn't lost my goal; if I had worked harder and unapologetically believed in myself.  Indeed, what would happen if we hardened, cynical adults still dreamed with child-like idealism?  How would the world be different?  How much happier would we be?

While on study abroad, I found my dreaming self again.  Europe tends to do that to a person.  Everything seemed possible.  "Can't" momentarily fell from my vocabulary.  No one, especially myself, told me something was unreachable.  And it's time to get back to that attitude.  I'm not just talking about sports; I'm talking about life.  And watching athletes like 38-year old Kristin Armstrong win the individual time trial in cycling, the US women's soccer team bounce back from a crushing defeat one year ago to win the gold medal, and Wojdan Shaherkani become the first female athlete to compete for Saudi Arabia it just the thing to help that mentality return.  Here's to dreaming...