This week marks the beginning of the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, and I am beyond excited. I look forward to the Olympics, both summer and winter, for years and when they happen, I watch as much as I can. Some of my friends think I’m crazy because not only do I get excited to watch, I also get a little emotional too. Whenever an Olympian is awarded a medal, and their national anthem is played for everyone to hear, I always end up crying just a bit. I get so emotional and happy that I just can’t hold it in. It may seem ridiculous to you, but please bear with me while I explain.

So far this year, I’ve already watched the United States Olympic Trials, and I saw so many people of all ages and backgrounds get one step closer to achieving their dreams. We all have dreams. Whether we dream of becoming a professional athlete or musician, or maybe our dream is to change the world in some way. When I see the people in the trials qualify to go to Rio, and I see how happy they are that their hard work has paid off, I think about all the hard work I do to achieve my dreams. Although mine are much different, I can understand their tears of happiness when they get one step closer to their ultimate goal. I think we all can connect with these seemingly superhuman athletes on a personal level in some way. We see these people achieving their highest ambition and it gives us hope that someday we can do that too.

In the coming weeks, the world will watch the best athletes out there compete with each other while doing what they love. We will see ordinary people become Olympians, and Olympians become medalists. Every Olympian is incredibly talented and has accomplished feats worthy of great pride, but I start to tear up at the pride I see when an Olympian is given their medal. The pride in themselves, the pride in their sport and the pride in their country. Seeing human beings so happy and proud makes me want to work harder and do better things for myself and the world.

In the next two weeks this summer, we will also see people from countries all over the word come together and celebrate. They will celebrate being together, competing, and doing what they are most passionate about. And the best part is, we get to celebrate with them. With all the horrors happening everyday in the world, we all need something to celebrate and something to root for.

Every day on the news, there is a new story of injustice and hate, and although it’s important to pay attention to those things, it can turn anyone into a pessimist. During the Olympics, the news is filled with uplifting stories of young people doing spectacular things or seasoned veterans lifting up their teammates with their success. For two weeks, there are videos of people from all over the world coming together in happiness, and that is hard to come by in 2016. The Olympics will give us something to strive for; something to hope for. I think that the Olympics is exactly what the world needs in this year, and we should celebrate it as much as we can.