Always Looking To Be Inspired

Love to learn, love to be motivated, love to embrace change!

[livelaughloveplease]

Huge thank you to @thegivingkeys and @karstalowe for the hook up!! Just got this key in the mail! #trust is such a great word on its own but it represents the trust and bond our team had for each other!! It wasn't built overnight, we worked for it and we protected it!! Such an amazing group, thanks to the @thegivingkeys for helping us keep that symbol alive and connected while are all off doing different things! @usavwnt (at Villa Park, California)

[livelaughloveplease]

I've lived a lot of my life looking ahead to what's next, this past month I made 'Being in the Moment' a priority. The journey started 4 years ago, with a large group of people on a mission to do something great. We created our own culture and brought clarity to our vision. It took dedication, sacrifice, and a whole lot of heart! I was constantly amazed by everyone who had touched our program, the volunteers that came in the gym to help, every person on staff that went above and beyond, every teammate that spent time in the gym, putting the team above themselves. I was blessed with the opportunity to represent not only our country, but also those that put in time with the program that didn't get to go. We put our all into each match, each point. We brought 'our good' everyday, to showcase the team that we had become, the team culture we had fought for, and to honor everyone's contributions. We weren't able to be the first team to bring home the gold, but we stayed true to ourselves, showed heart and grit, and we fought until the very end! I'm so proud of this group!! I stayed stayed 'In the Moment' this past month and walked away with a bronze medal, so many incredible memories, and the knowledge that we started something that will continue to be built upon, and so when we finally bring that gold home, we know that part of our journey will be part of that journey as well. Thank you to everyone involved in this program, thank you to all the fans, thank you to the PSU family, thank you to all of Leelanau County and other parts of Michigan as well, thank you to friends and family. I am forever grateful for this experience! #grateful #blessed #uswnt #usavolleyball #allin #bronzeisthenewgold #beinthemoment #bepresent #findingmastery #dodifficultthings #ittakesthevillage #teamusa #rio2016

[livelaughloveplease]

I love this team, love this moment, love the journey!! #usawnt #usavolleyball #teamusa #rio2016 #allin #bronzeisthenewgold #blessed #grateful (at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

[livelaughloveplease]

Day 9 USA vs. Netherlands

We headed into the match knowing that Netherlands was a good team, having upset China the night before, but we also knew that we could be a better USA team than our night before. The goal was to come out strong, and not wait to see what they would do. Regardless of what we wanted to do, they came at us hard, they are playing great volleyball right now, which is the perfect time to be playing great volleyball! They are a very physical team both offensively and defensively. We found ourselves 0-1 pretty quickly, still not finding our best just yet, but not panicking. We came back and answered in the second set, tying it up, but still more room for improvement.

The third set came and they we pushing us again. We made it a little harder on ourselves by missing more serves than we would like. At first we were ok with it because, with their talent for offense, we knew the way to slow them down would be to try to serve aggressively and get them out of system. After we dropped 1-2, we knew we needed to reign in the errors, and fight hard to make the match go five.

Which is exactly what we did. The fourth set was much cleaner and we started to find our groove. Finding your groove in a match where the other team is pushing you off balance is never easy, but we trusted ourselves to find us, we gave our all on each point, and we started making some incredible plays! And with that, it started to get really fun! We found our stride in the fourth, and continued it in the 5th, and found a way to win the match!

I love this team. The love doesn't come because we won, it came because we put in so much work ahead of time. We've been vulnerable with each other, we've gotten on each other, pushed each other, and we've developed this trust in the process, trust in each other, so that when we're down, we know there's a way out, and that if we can tap into 'our good', it's good enough to battle back. We will always fight until the end.

After the match was awesome too! We got to meet up with all of our families at this restaurant near our hotel. The restaurant was filled with of red, white, and blue, and lots of hugs!! So much love in one room! The match was fun, the evening after was fun! I was smiling in my sleep probably!! Good day at the office.

[livelaughloveplease]

Day 8 Off Day

Woke up early post match day to get some recovery in and then head out to meet my mom and Chris. I met them at the amazing apartment they were staying in, you can see both Lake Lagoa, where rowing competes, and Christ the Redeemer statue. Once I got there we headed to USA house. The USA house is set up in a private school, and has about 5-6 floors, each floor with something different to see. The bottom floor has little cabanas to replicate the beach vibe, there's food available, and huge TV's everywhere for people to watch lots of different events. When you walk in, there's a huge photo of team USA from Opening Ceremonies. They want all past and current Olympians to sign it. You can't see me in it, it's basically of the front line (Phelps, some swimmers, and some fencers), but just knowing we were there is cool enough. I signed near Shawn Johnson which I thought was pretty cool, being a fan of gymnastics and all!

We walked in during a cool moment, there was a brunch/luncheon hosted by the US Ambassador to Brazil, Liliana Ayalde, and the Consulate General, James Story, and his wife Susan. They spoke with us, gave us a pin, and we took photos. Not sure how to get those ones, but later I had a chat with his wife and she was excited about the games and wished us luck, she wanted a picture with me, so I was able to get one with her as well! We also got to meet some of the other countries Ambassadors as well. Such a random event to walk into, but pretty cool!

My mom, Chris, and I explored the rest of USA house, there was a Twitter room, where we took a photo that they posted to the team USA account, and they verified me!! Woop woop! So official! Up another floor and there was the presentation for the Los Angeles bid for 2024. It looks amazing and I really hope they get it! We finally made it to the top floor and were rewarded by an amazing view! The USA house is right on the beach, great time for a panorama!!! It was so windy to it was a little tricky to take but I made it work!

I had to head back to the hotel shortly after, but it was such a fun morning! Always good to get family time! We had training later at the Navy school, nothing to heavy, but just enough, with a little ice bath to finish it off. Ready for the next day, ready for Netherlands.

[livelaughloveplease]

Day 7 USA vs. Puerto Rico

Two big things happened on this day:

1) I played in my first ever Olympic game!! The match wasn't our best, they brought a lot of energy (it was their whole team's first time at the Olympics), and it was close at times. It was closer than people probably would have predicted it would be, but Puerto Rico played hard and pushed us, but we found a way to win, despite not really finding our groove. Can you still be good when things aren't firing on all cylinders? Can you stay steady when the other team is fired up and bring a lot of emotion? Can you find your own energy when the crowd is against you? We held our composure and pulled out a 3-0 win! We'll take it and work to be better next time we step on the court!

2) I received a surprise gift! We can't really see or spend time with our friends and families post match, which is unfortunate, but my mom was able to pass something to our team leader, and she brought it to me after the match. I was immediately emotional just looking inside the bag. There were, all tied together with a pretty red, white, and blue bow, cards/letters in envelopes all written to me. Eventually, when I got back to the hotel I sat on my bed and read every single one! (I cheated a little at dinner by opening a couple early!) I was amazed, overwhelmed, and insanely happy to read every word, every letter, every card. There were even a couple drawings, some jokes, and some momentous from home. I cried a little and I laughed and I smiled a lot. I want to say thank you to my mom for bringing them, thank you to whoever organized it all, and thank you to everyone who took the time to write them! I can't imagine a better support system! You are all here with me, helping me, helping us be the best team we can be and represent Team USA in hopes of bringing home that gold!! It meant so much to me, thank you again!

[livelaughloveplease]

USA with the stuff...Is this an appropriate response for either not touching the ball at all, or maybe getting a pinkie on it? @folukea killed it, and I'm her hype girl! #rio2016 #teamusa #usavolleyball #usawnt #iloveourteam (at Ginásio do Maracanãzinho)

[livelaughloveplease]

Opening Ceremonies- Day 6

What an action packed day!!!! The day started off with a little bit of training, a whirlwind of getting ready, meeting an important person, traveling back to the Village, waiting, a little more waiting, traveling to our venue (which was near our hotel where we started), meet cool people on the bus, wait in the volleyball venue, meet cool people, and then walk, and walk some more, and then walk into Opening Ceremonies, and then head home!! The end.

I guess I'll unpack that story a bit and tell you in detail how the day went! We did start with training, that was pretty normal, we were feeling pretty good, last day of training before our first match, we're ready!! Then it was a race to shower, do hair/makeup, try not to start sweating again, eat something if there was time, and then hurry over to meet the US Secretary of State, John Kerry! He came to the Navy School to say hello to all the athletes training there. We were pretty pumped. He made a brief speech, he spoke about how proud he was that we were representing our country and that the Olympics is a great event to bring awareness and insight to foreign relations. He shook hands, took some selfies and group photos, and then we had to say goodbye, jump on a bus and head for the Village. Keep it moving…

Got to the village early and had some down time, thank goodness for the athlete lounge, we hung out with the men's volleyball team for a bit before we had to gather. When we went downstairs it was a huge swarm of athletes everywhere, everyone in the same striped shirt, white pants, and blue blazer. People were going around either taking photos with each other or finding other athletes to take photos with. It was overwhelming, it was hot with the jacket on, but it was amazing to feel the buzzing of excitement as we were all ready to go!

We started walking and we were one of the last groups to walk, which put us right in front of Phelps who had only come out once he knew people started walking, probably to avoid the mob that would inevitably swarm him. Karsta, Kim, and I strategically stayed right in front of him and then told everyone behind us to jump in our photo! Hahaha we figured it was more discreet than outright asking right? Or was it? Anyway, the walk continued and that part was cool in itself because we were walking the curved path through the village as Team USA, even though it was opening ceremonies yet, it was a cool moment!

We got to the buses and we all spread out, most teams stayed together but this way we ended up meeting lots of different teams, some of the girls got to chat with Ricky Fowler the golfer, and Kim, Karsta, and I got to hang with the women's Basketball team. I sat down behind Maya Moore and got to talk with her the whole way to the stadium. It was really cool to chat about their team, the life they live vs ours, she was interested in our side of things as well! I really enjoyed the chat, so cool to find common ground!

Our volleyball arena is right next to the soccer stadium, so it became the holding area. They gave us snacks and a huge section to sit in and be comfortable while we waited to go in. Other countries were already there, some would arrive in a bit, and everyone was dressed in their opening outfits, interesting to see the colors, the design, etc. We found this waiting area comforting. The basketball teams, some of the track athletes, and probably Serena Williams, might not have felt the same, they were sitting ducks for people to come ask for photos, but they handled it well. Music was playing and people were dancing, and of course at one point we had the wave going. And then it was time….

But not really, it was time to walk, but that walk would take about 30 min, even thought the actual distance being traveled should have take less than 5 min to walk. Even though the walk was long, there were lots of photos taken, lots of team interactions, met some of the sprinters. They asked us about our qualification process and how many games it took to win here, and while we can imagine that they have one shot sometimes to prove themselves, to qualify, they said they'd rather have a quantifiable measurement, rather than a subjective decision on who makes the team, and that they'd rather compete the 1,2 times (depending on the event, or how many events they were in), to our playing every other day.  In the end, to each their own.

We started down into the tunnel, and for most former Olympians, this is their favorite part. It’s pretty awesome, we’re so close you can see a little bit inside, but mostly it’s dark, we can hear the fans inside, and then everyone around us (I think Court started it), started chanting, USA, USA, USA!! This is that moment, we’re in it, we are Team USA, and no matter if you’ve done this part before, if you’re famous NBA or WNBA players, if you’re Michael Phelps, Serena Williams, etc, nobody has been in this moment before, and we’re all experiencing it in the same way, and I think that’s why people like this part so much! What a cool concept and amazing feeling!

We made our way onto the field, walking the aisle created by the other countries standing around us, the stadium is full of color and screaming people, the lights are bright, and you just know that this is a big deal, that this is the show. I wanted to be in it, I wanted to document it, I wanted to share it. So much in the 2/3 minutes it probably took us to walk around and then it was over. We had to leave early because we had to compete the next day. We did it! We got to walk in Opening Ceremonies in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, we were part of the history! There aren’t enough words.

We got back to the hotel and had a late dinner and discussed everyone’s favorite parts, and then quickly got to bed. Tonight was huge, but there were big things ahead of us as well.

P.S. Wanted to thank everyone for watching and searching for me on TV, I know my mom got sent screen shots of me walking across that golfers interview. I got a couple via twitter, so cool to see people’s excitement, I’m living this with you guys, I’m happy to share this experience with family, friends, our town, our community, our state! It’s amazing!

[livelaughloveplease]

Days 3-5 Update

It's been a little busy, not a lot of time to write, but wanted to give you the highlights of these couple days: Got to sit with some of the women's fencing team, former Penn Stater Monica Akdamit, the purple haired Dagmara Wozniak, and Ibtihaj Muhammad, who is making history (look her up). I was super excited to chat with them, and guess what the conversation eventually turned to? Nail Polish…turns out we have a lot in common! ;) Scrimmaged against Italy on competition court. It was great to be able to step on the court prior to competition, the venue is amazing and has a historic vibe to it, lots of great players have played in the arena. Also was super excited to see my former Italian teammates, Serena Ortorlani and Monica De Gennaro. Great to hug them and get to catch up a bit, Serena just married her hubby (again) only this time with a formal ceremony, and Moki got engaged to her long time boyfriend and our former assistant coach Daniele Santarelli. So excited for them both!! We moved out of the Village the day before Opening Ceremonies to be closer to our venue, we loved the vibe of being at the village, being around all the athletes and coaches, but the long drives with traffic were a little bit much for us. We were finally able to truly unpack and get settled in, which is always a great feeling. I hope I didn't leave any highlights out, but I'll close this chapter and fill you in on Opening Ceremonies next!

[livelaughloveplease]

Love this team!! Got our first W last night!! #rio2016 #usawnt #usavolleyball #teamusa (at Ginásio do Maracanãzinho)

[livelaughloveplease]

Today is the day we've been preparing, counting down, and anxiously waiting for!! Opening ceremonies are tonight, who's excited?!!! 🇺🇸🎉 #rio2016 #usawnt #usavolleyball #teamusa #olympicdreams (at Vila Dos Atletas)

[livelaughloveplease]

So excited to be on this journey, with these people, right here and right now! There's been so much hard work, there's been lots of sweat and tears, there's been a lot of laughter and silliness, a huge amount of focus and dedication, as well as a significant amount of sacrifice. We're committed to staying on this path, this journey, no matter what. This is a group of fighters that I've learned so much from. Thank you to them, thank you to my family, and thank you to all friends and supporters! So excited to be in this moment with you all! Let the games begin...soon!! #olympicjourney #gratitude #bravery #courage #commitment #sacrifice #usawnt #allin #usavolleyball #findingmastery #rio2016 #weready

[livelaughloveplease]

Day 2- Gymnast Dreams

First night sleeping in the village, first morning waking up in the village, it's still as cool as yesterday! Today is less busy, we have the morning off, we have a video session after lunch, and then head to practice. Competition court time is limited at the Olympics, so what's cool about the USOC (United States Olympic Committee) is that they come down in advanced and find venues for all the US teams to train in. How amazing is that?! They got us a place at this Naval School. Men's and Women's volleyball will train in the gym, water polo will use the pool and track and field will use their track, so a group of teams use the facilities and they also have USOC staff there to provide meals (mostly dinner for us), as well as a place to lift. We have everything that that we'll need! I guess the thing that amazes me, is how much planning and hard work went into making sure we have everything we need, in order to make our lives easier. I don't know when they started, but at least a year before, if not more. We even have a private contract with a bus company, so that we can schedule our own pick up and departure times versus having to wait for the pre scheduled buses to get you. Many teams from other countries are waiting and some have to share. It's amazing that the USOC has gone above and beyond to make everything more efficient and comfortable. Now if only they had a magic wand to help with traffic! Traffic is less than ideal, but we knew that in advanced and we have plans to move offsite when we get closer to playing time, so that bus travel times get cut down. The men's volleyball and beach volleyball teams made it down today, more teams are coming, the village is getting busier and even more colorful. It's amazing to see all the athletes as well. Our team walked by the Five female gymnasts and almost everyone turned to the person behind them and said, “Did you guys see the fierce five? We just passed them!!” (We were super excited). We're on average about 6'2"+, and they're about 5' or just under. One of their coaches told us her athlete sits on airplanes and her feet don't touch the ground, and that when they want to stretch out their legs, they put them up on the seat, fully extended…I can't even imagine. I had a dream once to be an Olympic gymnast, I wanted to be Dominique Dawes. My cousin Emily supported me. My mom told me that I'd be too tall, something about my feet hitting the ground on the uneven bars. My cousin (she was my coach) and I spent way too much time trying to get me to land a front flip, I never did…just ran, put my hands down, got my feet over my head, then landed on my back, every time. So maybe my mom was right, isn't that always the case? So I turned back to volleyball, I think I'm better suited for it. My cousin wrote me the next day and said, “I hope you can just take a moment to let it soak in that you are Dominique Dawes now.” I made it to the Olympics, maybe a different path than my intended gymnastics career, but I'm here just the same, and it's pretty darn cool!

[livelaughloveplease]

Official First Day

Day 1 (it was a couple days ago, I’m a little behind, shhhh)

The world ‘whirlwind’ comes to mind when I think about our first day in Rio and in the Village.  We’ll say that the day started when we touched down.  Getting off the plane to get to customs was maybe half a mile walk…it took quite some time, but you figure 10 hours post plane ride, you really can’t complain about walking it out a bit.  There was a special customs lane just for people within the Olympic delegation, so cool!  Right after customs, we were given our official credentials, which you need for everything, so don’t lose them we were told.  Credentials seem insignificant but eventually, the simple, laminated document would grant us access to the village, the cafeteria, we would get a key card to attach to it that would open any coke/water machine, it would need to be scanned for your drop off and pick up of laundry, it would hold your apartment keys, and the strap/lanyard would be the vehicle for the exchanging of pins.  Again, DON’T LOSE IT!  So back to baggage claim at the airpot, aka mass chaos.  The airport staff helped by blocking off a section just for us, by us I mean any Team USA athlete and staff person, and in that section, they were pulling off all of our bags.  Only trouble is that we all had received the same bags, one Nike, one Ralph Lauren, and so we didn’t know which one’s were which, the way to tell was a little ID card with the team name on it, ours was written in pink, rugby was red, rowing was blue.  So a couple of us who were first off the plane started sorting, and eventually we were able to get all our bags and head for the bus.  

I could have been imagining it but as we got closer, the excitement and curiosity level rose.  What would the Village look like, was it ready, what will our rooms look like, etc?  We got to the Village and of course it was amazing to see, lots of really tall buildings with lots of flag decorations on everyone’s balconies.  The avenue of flags was so cool to see and super long.  As we bused around to our building, a tour guide pointed out the dining hall, the smaller quicker dining hall, the fitness center and mini hospital, the bank, the post office, the Samsung store, and of course the McDonalds.  Eventually we made it to the building.  We got keys and were able to go up and see the apartments.  Six to a room, two rooms for the 12 of us, some sharing, some singles, a common room and 3 bathrooms, not to shabby.  On the 1st floor there was the recovery room, 3 massage therapists available all day, hot and cold tubs, normatec, game ready, anything you could want.  On the other side of the 1st floor was the Athletic Training room, where each team’s trainers would set up.  Outside that door there was a huge case of bug spray, they came prepared.  On the 2nd floor, on one side there were rooms dedicated to be the Athlete’s lounge, snacks/water/coffee etc, and lots of TVs for when the games started, as well as a sign up sheet for tickets to other events.  On the other side there was the office for troubleshooting let’s call it, maintenance people, USOC people, etc.  If you had an issue with anything, they would solve it.  

After our luggage was delivered and we got everything up to our rooms, we headed out to get lunch in the dining hall.  It’s quite large, with lots of different stations, Brazilian food, International Food, Asian/Indian food, Pizza/Pasta (Italian food), a fruit and salad bar, coffee stations, pretty much anything you could think of, it takes a decent amount of walking around to settle on what you want exactly.  Otherwise you end up grabbing everything that looks good and you can barely hold your tray up. Lots of colors gathered in the dining hall, it wasn’t packed the first day, but still lots of people, and you end up people watching, checking out people’s gear, trying to guess what sport they play, etc.  

Next we had a meeting, our orientation to the Village, the highlight of which was when they gave us our phones, they gave everyone a Samsung Galaxy S7, Olympic Edition, so excited to play with it.  They explained how everything worked, where everything was, and how to make the most of our quick Village experience.  

Last item on the agenda was a quick lift, so we headed to the fitness center.  What a cool experience! We’ve lifted in lots of different places, but now we were lifting amongst the World’s best, it was so humbling, we barely noticed that we’d been going non stop! We got after it in the fitness center and then we were done for the day, on our own to take in the whole day’s events.  We were finally here, the journey has begun.  The Olympic experience is a lot about our team competing at the highest level on the biggest stage, but part of it should be spent on enjoying that fact that you’re in a Village that took 4+ years to plan and create, there’s a huge USOC staff that has been down there ahead of time making sure that everything was ready for us, and that you’re surrounded by athletes that you’ve either seen before on TV in previous Olympic events, or athletes that are trying to do exactly what you’re trying to do for the very first time, nothing to do but be so grateful and soak it all up, so that’s what I’ll do!

[livelaughloveplease]

Processing Day

Day 0.5

I’m to go out on a limb and say that Processing Day has been the best day of the Olympic journey so far…bold statement I know.  I’m sure that there will be better days, like maybe Opening Ceremonies, any of the match days, potentially winning a gold medal, it’s safe to say that there are more great days to come, but I was super impressed with pretty much everything at Processing Day.

We started of with a meeting, it was for the Athlete’s Ambassadors Program, wasn’t, sure what to expect, but it turned out to be an emotional roller coaster in the best way possible.  We started with a quick overview of logistics like the locations of all the events, training facilities, houses, etc, we then covered rules like what you can and can’t wear, clothing and accessories, what to expect when it comes to media and anti-doping.  They kept it informative and pretty quick.  Intermingled in different speech topics, were presentations by two former Olympic Athletes.  One was Joey Cheek, a highly successful speed skater, who was elected by his team to carry the US flag into closing ceremonies.  He told his story, but the most important takeaway for me was his outlook on the games.  He talked about how every person has a personal story of how they got to the games, and while they are absolutely worth hearing, that there’s always a story of a person somewhere that’s not being told, someone who doesn’t have the same rights or opportunities.  He spoke about being a role model, and stressed how important it is to give back, and use the platform for supporting those that don’t have a voice.  It was amazing to see his passion, and so important to not only think about yourself and your dreams, but also how you can use the experience to help others with their dreams.  

The next person we spoke to was a person that I was more familiar with, so there was a lot of excitement…..we got to meet GAIL DEVERS!!! I grew up watching a lot of track and field events in the Olympics and she was on of my favorites! We tried to not 'fan girl' her too much, but she was so nice and took a photo with us and even stayed around to chat for a bit. Her message during the meeting was about setting goals. She said that she would write down her goals on a sticky note, sign it, and then hang it up where she would constantly see it. And then because her word is her bond, she had to do everything she could to accomplish it. She overcame some pretty impressive odds, holding to the promise she made to herself. She also told us how she was now officially our team Mom, and that she and her girls would be watching as many events as possible. So cool to see how committed she still is to Team USA. Both presenters emphasized how we have become Team USA now, it's bigger than us individually, and it's bigger that just our individual sport. We have this amazing Team USA and everyone wants everyone to be successful, so that was pretty cool! We ended by watching the USOC video to the song 'Rise Up' and it was incredibly powerful and emotional. A wonderful start to this processing day!

Then we moved on to the lighter stuff, getting all the gear!! There were tons of stations, Olympic Ring sizing, Omega, Oakley, P&G, Ralph Lauren, and Nike (there were more which I'm forgetting but you get the jist).  Everything was incredible and cemented the feeling that this is real, this is what Olympians do! We got sized for our Opening & Closing outfits, as well as the Media and Medal Stand outfits, getting more real by the hour! It was a long long process to get all the right sizes and get to all the stations, we eventually repacked our bags and we head back to the hotel for a lift, and then showered and got ready to head to the airport, we were officially Rio bound!!

The city of Houston was an amazing host, they handled all our bags, we had our own check in and security lines at the airport, and United even had a lounge set up for just us, what amazing perks!! It only gets cooler each day, so incredibly grateful for this journey! There will be even better days than this I'm sure, but there will also be tough days, no matter what, my goal on this trip is to Be in the Moment, and Enjoy the Journey!!!

[olympics]

Less than 4 days to go until the start of the Olympic Games!  Goodnight! #roadtorio

[livelaughloveplease]

Not my photo but pretty amazing....

[livelaughloveplease]

And the adventure begins..

Day 0*

Today (was) is the day we start the Olympic journey. We head to Houston, Texas for processing before we head to Rio. The morning was a little stressful, hadn't slept the best, had to go to practice and finish packing, then head for the airport. Called my mom before I left and she asked the same question she'd been asking, “Does it feel real yet?” She asks again because I wouldn't answer her the first couple times that she did. I wouldn't answer because it felt like a jinx, like if I let myself feel like an Olympian and get excited about it, it might somehow get taken away. She felt confident asking this time because I had a airline ticket and I had survived the last training session, no matter what happened now, I wasn't an alternate, it was official, I was going to the Olympic Games.

In 2012 I was an alternate, which is why I'm all caught up in the jinx, not that I'm really superstitious, but I've been on a mission after being told 'no' four years ago, and not that 'just going' is the ultimate goal, but it's farther than I got last time and pretty darn exciting. Getting told 'no' to your dreams is heartbreaking, there isn't really a better way to describe it. You're in love with a sport, with a journey and a dream, and it broke up with you and it hurts. So for a while it hurt, but good news, the hurt goes away, and if you can be level headed, you can look back and identify the reasons why it didn't work out, and decide how to go about doing it differently. I wasn't ready four years ago, they made the right choice. So when I got over the heartbreak, (home, time away, family, and friends was my tub of ice cream), I realized I wanted to do things differently the next time around, and here I am, a different, stronger person.

Now, it's not magic, it would be nice if it was but it's not. Becoming stronger for having gone through something takes work. Identifying your weaknesses, making a plan to attack them, and work your butt off until you're stronger. Easier said than done of course. I'm on plane today, a different and stronger person than the one in 2012, but I still have weaknesses and issues I'm working through, the work never ends. Isn't that the fun part? I guess it depends on your outlook on life. I wouldn't call myself an optimist, but I am a big believer in change, in a person's ability to change, but that's a story for another day.

So my answer to my mom was this, “I mean yea, I do have a plane ticket, they do have to take me (I think), I am excited, well I will be when I finish packing, make it to the airport, and drop my bags off.” Just so you know, that's an approximation of what I said, I'm terrible with verbatim quotes, but since it's mine, I don't mind if I was off by a little, you get the general idea. So if you didn't pick up on it, packing stresses me out a little. Not so stressed that I'm panicking, but I like to bring everything I possibly can, within the weight limit, sometimes a little bit over (overflowing into the carryon), but what's a really heavy carryon in comparison to the comfort of knowing I brought everything I wanted. Super excited that the weight limit for people traveling to and from Brazil is 70lbs, it made my life easier, or did it? In the end, my bag was 70lbs with a little help of my lighter weight assigned USA equipment bag. Shuffled some things around and dropped my bag off at baggage claim. I'm officially an Olympian, and mom, does feel real! I'm ready for this amazing adventure!

Stay tuned for more days to come!

*I’ll start with Day 1 when we get to Rio...