Mixed Feeling About the Olympics

[d0nut_l0ver]

Most people say watching the Olympics inspires them.

Me? It makes me depressed.

But I still watch it anyways.

It's just watching those girls, telling myself, "I wish I could do that."

But then I am brought back to bitter reality, and I remind myself, "I don't even have a back hand-spring."

I know I said before that my goal was never Olympics, but...I lied. Olympics IS my dream. {Crazy, right?!?!?!}

The other day, my gym friend and I were talking about the Olympics...

Me: Too bad we'll never make it to the Olympics.
Her: We still have a chance.
Me: *snort* Okay, you got 4 years to go from Level 4 to Elite. GO GO GO!!!
Her: Well, is that your dream?
Me: Huh?
Her: Like, is that something you REALLY want to do?
Me: *ponders* Maybe.
Her: Then you can do it...IF you FINALLY get over your fear of beam cartwheels AGAIN.
Me: *lol*

I mean, I guess that gave me a bit of hope, but...not much.

I guess I just have to face it. I'll never be an Olympic gymnast. Especially considering there is a 99% chance I will have to leave gymnastics for a year, this coming school year...

So...what are your feelings about the Olympics? Inspiring? Depressing? Or you could care less? xD

 

[JBS]

My dream was to fly jets...F/A-18's to be exact. I had my first seizure my junior year of high school at the US Naval Academy. They denied me medically. My dream was over.

The seizures (I had a few more) also caused me to lose all of my air sense for gymnastics. Second dream over.

Now I am a coach...I have a wife and 3 kids............I dreamt again...and as those new dreams became reality...my old dreams went to sleep...

...but I still love the Olympics!...and I still love F/A-18's!


05220022 by Slife Family, on Flickr

 

[LiveLoveTumble]

The Olympics has been my dream since I was little. I don't think I'll ever be able to completely give that up. But I've pretty much accepted that it's not going to happen (my friends, on the other hand, are still convinced that I'm going to win in 2016. Again, the case of, "Oh, you do gymnastics? Well, you're going to the Olympics then!") So, the Olympics is inspiring for me, because it pushes me to do my best when I see how hard they are working for their dream. So I'm going to push myself to get as close as I can to my dream.

 

[Krystan]

I wanted to be a ballerina. I wasn't good enough, it's that simple. I suppose if I had been very single-minded and given up lots of other stuff, and my family had moved, and we were richer, and they weren't as in to academics, I *could* have done it.

My dd was saying something similar the other day about how she is 11 and doing L5 this year and it's unlikely she'll ever get to L10. She says she *really* wants to, but has accepted it's not likely since she didn't start gymnastics until she was 9. However, she said - think of all the stuff I got to do before I started that all the girls who started when they were 3 missed out on. She was mostly talking about creative free-play time at home, time with family, fun day trips we went on. But I guess she almost thinks of it as a fair trade. Although she sometimes wishes I had "made" her start gymnastics at a younger age, she also sees that she wasn't mentally ready for it then and that she gained something instead that was worth not missing (if that makes any sense). I think you need to think about all the other stuff you do and have that is important to you that takes up your day. You need to find something else "worth it" for you.

Those girls at the Olympics not only had to have the right mix of luck/money/support/age/chance, they had to be extremely single-minded their entire teenage years. They have to have rock-solid mental toughness and be willing to work all day every day. They had to give up LOTS of stuff and experiences - did you see that video where Aly missed her own high school graduation? - that the rest of us take for granted. To these girls, gymnastics is not just their favorite activity, not just what they do after school, not just their goal in life. It *is* their life for so long. And SO many of them end up not getting to that end goal. I don't mean that it's bad to have a dream, but it has to be realistic AND you have to own it.

Part of growing up (like JBS's story) is realizing when it's time to let go of a dream and find a new one. Now, if my dd came to me and said she absolutely is willing to do whatever it takes to get to L10 before she graduates, then I would do everything in my power to support her and figure out how to get her there. But - if she said her dream was to get to the Olympics... we'd have to sit down for a reality check. donut_lover, have you read Harry Potter? It's like you are letting the Olympics be your Mirror of Erised. Don't waste away staring into it (if you haven't read HP, then you can ignore the reference). I don't mean don't watch, just try to take yourself out of the equation and enjoy some really awesome gymnastics as a third party observer.

The only thing I find a bit depressing watching the Olympics is that just about EVERY athlete in EVERY sport is younger than me. Ah, well...

 

[JessLW]

DL, it is true you're not going to ever compete in the Olympics. That sounds harsh, but it is reality. I was in your position once, realizing that it just wasn't going to happen. I still remember being 12 or so and counting out how old I would be for "my" Olympic year (I am pretty sure all gymnasts have do this!), thinking, I have 4 more years, I could do it, it could happen. Of course it didn't happen. It only happens once every four years for 5 athletes in the entire country. Those aren't favorable odds. Maybe if you lived in Turkey.

But the thing is, thousands, tens of thousands even, of young gymnasts compete every years and most of them will not even end up at level 10, much less elite. That doesn't mean they didn't gain anything along the way or that they don't love the sport. Just like all the kids who play baseball but don't make it to the major leagues, or

If you love gymnastics and want to stay involved in it, there are lots of ways to do so. Coaching, judging, gym ownership. Your experience as a gymnast would totally help you in any one of those careers.

Try to just enjoy the games and take yourself out of the equation.

Krystan I always feel old when I watch the Olympics too. Yesterday I was watching swimming and the announcers said this girl was was born in 1998. That's the year I graduated from high school for Pete's sake.

 

[LittleMinaGymnast]

Most people say watching the Olympics inspires them.

Me? It makes me depressed.

But I still watch it anyways.

It's just watching those girls, telling myself, "I wish I could do that."

But then I am brought back to bitter reality, and I remind myself, "I don't even have a back hand-spring."

I know I said before that my goal was never Olympics, but...I lied. Olympics IS my dream. {Crazy, right?!?!?!}

The other day, my gym friend and I were talking about the Olympics...

Me: Too bad we'll never make it to the Olympics.
Her: We still have a chance.
Me: *snort* Okay, you got 4 years to go from Level 4 to Elite. GO GO GO!!!
Her: Well, is that your dream?
Me: Huh?
Her: Like, is that something you REALLY want to do?
Me: *ponders* Maybe.
Her: Then you can do it...IF you FINALLY get over your fear of beam cartwheels AGAIN.
Me: *lol*

I mean, I guess that gave me a bit of hope, but...not much.

I guess I just have to face it. I'll never be an Olympic gymnast. Especially considering there is a 99% chance I will have to leave gymnastics for a year, this coming school year...

So...what are your feelings about the Olympics? Inspiring? Depressing? Or you could care less? xD

Hold onto your dreams, but don't forget to be open to other dreams, too. Who knows, maybe one day you'll own a gym and be an awesome coach... or maybe a famous physicist whose daughter goes to the Olympics... or maybe you wake up as an adult and cannot believe how happy you are because you have the best family you could have ever dreamed for.

 

[SuperGirlmlm]

I have some hope, I'll be of age for the Olympics in 4 years. I'm level 8, hopefully 9 by fall. Though, my friends think that I'm going to win it all in 4 years...That's never going to happen. There are girls out there that quit school years ago and moved across the country to train with a top-level coach and have been elite since age nine. They deserve that spot on the team, not me. Though, for the record, if I ever get a chance to go to the Olympic trials, I'll go!

 

[wallinbl]

I'm too old for nearly every sport in the Olympics. I still love watching it. There comes a time in your life (earlier for gymnastics than for other sports) when all the athletes you see on TV are younger than you, and you know it's over for your dream as a professional or elite athlete. Fortunately, there are plenty of other great things in life that bring happiness.

 

[CoachGoofy]

I wanted to be an Olympian once. But T&T was what I am good at & trampoline was my worst. I tried diving, but that just was not going to happen. Maybe archery or curling...or appreciating what all these other athletes have accomplished.

The USOC probably wouldn't want me anyway, for Reasons. I love, though, watching all the other nations that we barely hear about doing their thing.

 

[nicci1999]

JBS I used to want to fly too! From the time I was 5-15 (thanks Top Gun!) I wanted to fly, specifically a stealth fighter lol. Eye sight kept me from doing that. Couldn't even get in the military b/c of anaphalaxysis if I get stung by a bee. So that was a ten year long dream shot down. I moved on, though I will admit I do still sometimes wish I had been able to persue that dream. You find new things to reach towards. So you can't even do a back handspring yet. So what. Make that a goal. What about making level seven a goal of yours? That is a doable goal, and realistic. My gymnastics journey as an adult has lead to to "want" to be an elite, like that is ever going to happen lol. But it's a fun dream to have, and gives some goals to work towards. My realistic goal is to be equal to lvl seven, but what I really want is to swing giants on bars, throw a Tsuck for a vault, be able to do whipbacks on floor and a back handspring and front tuck on beam. Will that ever happen? Who knows. Gives me something to work towards. Won't ever be an Olympian, but hey, why not aim for AAU Junior Olympics? But remember, everyone's greatness is different to themselves. Be great for yourself, not for anyone else, even the Olympians, in the end, do this for themselves.

 

[J&A's mom]

I was going to be the next Nadia.....but I couldn't vault. And my family couldn't afford it, either

But I love the sports....except for when they cut into a sport I am watching to show yet another swim heat. Grrrr.....I am already mad that swimmers and track have millions of spots on the olympic team, while gymnasts have five. lol.

 

[mustlovejumping]

I think the point of having dreams and goals is to give yourself a path to be on. If you are enjoying the journey on that path, you won't be too disappointed when you have to give that dream up and find a new one. Getting to "the end" should just be icing on the cake :]