The Rio Olympic opening ceremony was a ceremony that will stay with me for a while. They took the spotlight and not only shared their history, but shared the issues that they hold close to the hearts, in a beautiful and artistic way. The used this rare moment to make a statement, to be a little different then all the host nations beforehand. There were so many important things to be taken out of the Ceremonies, and here are the five that stood out the most to me:

Embrace diversity

Whether it be monetary, physically, mentally, embrace the things that make us different. Our diversity is constant force that pushes us to be the best we can. It is the force that leads to innovation, and invention. If we were all the same, then how could we ever think differently enough to push the world forward?

Global warming is real and it's affecting us

A whole segment of the opening ceremonies was focused on humanities effects on climate change. Brazil is directly affected by the changing weather, and they dubbed the issue as the most important thing to be displayed in their opening ceremonies.

The old and the new can coexist

There was this moment where an old school singer and a new school rapper were singing back and forth in a battle of styles. It was amazing to see the merging of two iconic styles. They were able to successfully merge traditional music with modern. This shows that as humanity continues to advance, it is possible for us to hold onto our many cultures, and appreciate the past that brought us to our current point, because without our past we would be nothing at all.

Change begins with us

For every country competing in the games, a tree sapling will be grown in Rio. As mentioned above, Climate Change is a very important to the people of Brazil, and they are using the Olympic Games as a way to take action to fight it, as well as set an example for the rest of the world. Each sapling is a small step taken in planting an Olympic forest that will become a permanent part of Rio. Change, no matter how small is change none the less. One sapling would be nothing significant on its own, but with hundreds of others it becomes a force to be reckoned with,

We are all one

No matter where we come from, what religion we practice, or the things we choose to associate with, in the end we are all united. What is the Olympics other than a great show global unity? Nations who have had tensions in the past and in the present are all coming together for a few weeks of peace and competition. One thing different in these ceremonies from all the previous ones is that the athletes from all the nations were not designated a single spot to wait for the parade of nations to finish. Instead they were allowed to move and mingle with athletes from other countries as the parade continued. This was a large and powerful display of the unity inspired by the Olympics. In the end we all have more in common than we do different. We are all united, and we are all one when it comes to the Olympics. I hope the unity that has been established will remain with us long after this round of games is over.