Three years ago today, I attended a gymnastics meet for the first time. May 26, 2012, was at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, and it would be the first time I stepped into that arena. Little did I know that this was only the beginning, the beginning of a passion that would impact much of what was to come.
The 2012 Secret U.S. Classic was the first gymnastics meet I went to. I was very excited for it for many reasons.
One, it was the first time I was going to watch gymnastics in person. Watching sports in person isn't the same as watching it on TV. It's much more exciting (to me, anyway).
Two, it was 2008 Olympic All-Around Champion Nastia Liukin's first meet back in years. This was before I was super obsessed with gymnastics. I simply enjoyed the sport and watched it on TV whenever I saw it on the guide. Because of that, Nastia was one of the only gymnasts I knew of. I knew who she was and how long she'd been gone, so I was ecstatic that I was going to be able to witness her comeback in person.
Three, I was watching future Olympians (and a few Olympians and World Champions). The five girls who would be named to the U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team would likely come from the competitors of that meet. And they did -- even all three alternates.
Four, I was just excited for something new.
After watching the meet and taking a plethora of awful pictures, I fell in love with the sport. It was such an exciting and thrilling experience for me, seeing all of those talented athletes flip, tumble, and fly on the apparatuses. I don't know what it was (and I still don't know what it is) about gymnastics that makes me love it, but I found it that day in 2012.
From that point on, I wanted to learn more about the sport, its athletes, and anything else. My Tumblr began to be full of gymnasts. My Twitter feed started to fill with tweets from gymnasts, gymnastics bloggers, and gymnastics organizations. I pretty much thought about the sport every day during the summer of 2012, especially since I spent most of my summer days on Tumblr that year.
I have gymnastics to thank for lots of things. (This part might start to sound familiar if you read my National Gymnastics Day post from last September.)
It helped me figure out what I wanted to major in.
It's given me every internship I've had so far. And those internships I've had with Inside Gymnastics and Gymnastike have given me valuable experience that will help me find a job in the future.
It's helped me make connections. The internships have allowed me to work with people that can help me in my future career as a journalist/writer.
It's given me friends. I probably never would have met one of my best friends without the sport. It's how we found each other.
It's given me memories to last a lifetime. Watching an NCAA team cheer on one of its athletes, hearing chants for a perfect 10.0, hearing a little elite gymnast cheer on their fellow club teammate. Those are just some little memories that I never would have without gymnastics.
It's given me laughter, so much laughter. I'm a strong believer in the saying "Laughter is the best medicine." Laughing always makes me feel a little better. I love to laugh. So when I go to Illinois women's gymnastics practices or interview some of those gymnasts after meets, and something funny happens, I'm glad for the resulting laughter. It makes doing a simple, required task enjoyable and fun.
It's given me inspiration. I look up to many gymnasts -- even some who are younger than me. They inspire me and teach me various lessons. Never give up. Everything happens for a reason. Hard work pays off. Some of them teach me lessons that have nothing to do with gymnastics. Some just teach me to be a better person, and that tops anything else I have gotten from the sport.
I don't think I ever would have imagined getting so much from a sport I never did.
Thank you, gymnastics, for everything you've given me.
And as the years go by, my passion for the sport will only grow, and I can only dream of what else it will bring.
"Gymnastics taught me everything -- life lessons, responsibility and discipline and respect." - Shawn Johnson
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