Despite the violence, distress and fear that is present in the US as of late due to reoccurring tragedies of hate, there are a select group of Americans that still believe that they have something beautiful to represent and to fight for. Those people are our Olympians who are currently fighting for their spots in Rio a mere month from now. This is the time that they have been dreaming about since they were very young. This is unfortunately also a time where many are doubtful that our country will make progress toward peace. We are constantly debating how to demonstrate our power to other nations, and we are simultaneously battling hatred contained within our own 50 states. We are coming up on one of the, if not the most controversial presidential elections in our country's history, and tensions are high.
I personally have stayed out of the social media discussion on all of what is happening in America right now simply because I am disgusted and have yet to figure out how I want to and can help. Hopefully I will have more on that subject later, but for now, I want to focus on some people that I look up to for still working as hard as they can while the rest of us are trying to find our place in the social enigmas plaguing our country. I admire Olympic athletes for being our country's poster humans for perseverance. I am glad that they are giving us something to be excited about this summer because I think that our country needs it. So, without further ado, I want to introduce an Olympian who I have enjoyed watching during this tough time. Simone Biles.
Here are some reasons why she is someone to get excited about.
1. She is the first woman ever to win three back-to-back, all-around World Championship titles.
2. Her smile is infectious.
3. Her 4 foot 8 inches (or 9 depending on who she tells) frame is full of relentless energy; therefore, Biles is super fun to watch!
4. She took the only guaranteed spot on the Women's Olympic Gymnastics team at trials this past Sunday.
5. Simone is perpetuating an amazing history of African American Gymnastics. She, alongside Gabby Douglass, will represent America as two of the best gymnasts in the world, and will hopefully be wearing a medal or two as well.
6. According to Nastia Liukin, Olympic gold medal winner in the All-Around Competition in 2008, Simone is, "by far the best gymnast who ever lived."
7. And she makes the sport look easy at the same time.
8. While also proving that women are strong as hell.
9. And doing so with grace.
10. And a humble, positive, and inspiring attitude.
11. Oh yeah, and she is three olympic medals away from being the most decorated gymnast in history. So she is kind of a big deal.
