Day 1
After competing in the trials and making the Olympic team there is a period of a month to prepare for the games. This is a weird time. All my friends are finished with the season, I feel the low after the enormous high of making the team, not to mention just completly broke from taking off so much time and training expenses.
It felt like the Olympics were far off (a whole month away!) and I know this sounds silly, but I kept waiting for something to happen to take it away. It didn't feel real, not solid yet. Something I worked so hard for, for so long was finally mine and instead of enjoying it, I was afraid that I would lose it again. So I tattooed the Olympic rings on my shoulder. But instead of this being like a girl who wants to hold onto a guy so she tattoos his name on her neck and then in two years has it covered in flowers because her new boyfriend doesn't like "David's" on her neck, mine will always be relative. You never are a former Olympian. Once an Olympian you are always an Olympian. I had joined the ranks of the top 1% in the world!
That being said, the month flew by. Before I knew it I got on plain from Eugene headed to San Jose. Once in San Joses we got all our Olympic gear. Nike and Ralph Lauren are our main sponsors, so we got clothes and gear coming out of our ears! They literaly gave us a shopping cart and we went into a room with different stations. Each station had different items for us to take to the games with us, there were t-shirts, polos, pants, shorts, shoes, socks, bra's, we got opening ceremonies clothing that must have costs upwards of $400 for the outfit thanks to Ralph Lauren and believe me, I've never worn anything that classy! There were giggling athletes all over trying on clothing and just enjoying the first fruits of our labor as an Olympian.
Once we left with all our gear neatly packed in a brand-new official USA team roller bag, we headed over to alterations to make sure that all our clothing fit its best. Ralph Lauren didn't spend all that money for us not to look like every penny spent. Because of my build, very few clothes fit me how I would like, I have some pretty big legs and a small waist and pants just don't look right sometimes. Yet, they hooked me up and I'd like to believe I was showing everyone how the outfit should be rocked...maybe.
After that, we were ushered into going over the legistics of the meets, rules, regulations, what to expect, and we were given a video. What some people may not know is the slogan for this Olympic team is Amazing awaits. Well, Maya Angelou wrote a poem for the team called, 'Amazement Awaits' and it was absolutely beautiful. I will try to put it on so you too can enjoy it.
After fitted for out Olympic ring, picture taken, and fitted for our offical team leather jacket it was off to dinner and then off to bed.
I sat in bed that night, surrounded by all my new gear, thinking about my flight in the morning that would take me into Beijing, and I knew it was real. I was a real Olympian and no one could take that away.