When the summer olympics kicked off on August 5th, people from all across the world were glued to their television screens. It's been a long awaited 4 years, that's for sure! The amount of talent that is currently in Rio is tremendous. No matter if your favorite event is gymnastics or archery, we all feel a similar set of emotions while watching.
1. Inadequacy
When you're constantly seeing images of gymnasts walking around in leotards with their abs showing through and rowers with perfectly toned arms, it's hard not to feel this way. There are 16 and 19-year-olds winning medals in these races! You're most likely having thoughts like, what have I accomplished in my life?You may feel that you're an excellent volleyball player, swimmer, or runner one minute, and then just completely lose that feeling of confidence after seeing these non-human like performances. These people make it look so easy and effortless! However, they've been training for years (and possibly their whole lives) for this, so it's no wonder they're phenomenal at what they do.
2. Nervousness
Watching these events can be extremely nerve-wracking. If you're rooting for a specific person to win, you feel like you know them on a personal level. You become invested in an athlete and you feel as though you've been right by their side watching them train for this moment. Watching these athletes, you just never know if someone is going to cave under pressure. No one likes watching someone mess up! Especially when you know how hard these athletes have been training for.3. Astonishment
I'm sorry, did you just do a back handspring into a back tuck into a front flip right back into a back flip on the BALANCE BEAM?? What these athletes are capable of is down-right astounding. I use gymnastics as an example, but EVERY single event has astounding athletes doing astounding things. The dedication that the athletes have to their craft is extremely admirable. They set goals for themselves and they ended up at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. The fact that these individuals have the strength, both physically and mentally, to participate in such an event is both impressive and inspiring.
4. Hope
As you watch these young athletes across a multitude of countries congratulating one another and interacting with one another in general, you feel a sense of hope of international unity. The phenomenon of hundreds of countries coming together for 16 straight days is incredible. If we can come together for 16 days, we're capable of so much more.
5. Pride
As you lay sprawled out on your sofa, astonished by the images flashing on the screen in front of you, you can't help but feel a huge wave of pride wash over you. Pride in your country and the athletes that represent it, and pride in the unity across 206 countries competing this summer. Most of these athletes are of a young age and dedicate themselves to representing the United States. They display great sportsmanship and camaraderie that makes you feel nothing short of proud.
