In my last post, I wrote about ways you can take the Olympic motto and apply it to your own life, as well as to your schoolwork and the development of your study skills. Though the Olympics had not yet started when I wrote it, I knew from having seen past Games, keeping up with news leading into this year’s Games, and watching the Olympic Trials in several sports that the comparisons I was making between being a well-trained athlete and being a well-trained student were justified. What I didn’t know and couldn’t predict, regardless of how devoted a fan I have been through the years and how aware I was of how the leadup to these Games was different than any leadup that had preceded it because of the pandemic, was just how much more affected the athletes were by the challenges they’ve faced, and are still facing, than I ever could have imagined ahead of time. I have always been amazed by their resilience when I have heard the stories of how they have faced challenges, both on and off the field of play, and have either competed their way through them or returned to compete after needing to take time away because of them. No matter what any of the athletes may have faced in the past, or may be facing now, each and every one of them has been affected by the pandemic, just as we all have. Seeing them face unprecedented obstacles, such as having to wait an extra year to compete, dealing with continued COVID protocols, and not having their families and other spectators there to see them compete has made me realize that they are even more resilient than I always thought they were. Even if you are someone who is not interested in watching the Games, or who is much more interested in the competition than the athletes and their stories, the lesson of their resilience is a good reminder that no matter the challenges you face as your new school year begins, whether they relate to your studies, the pandemic, or both, you, too, can be resilient.
When the pandemic was just beginning and the Olympics were still supposed to go on as scheduled last summer, I remember feeling very frustrated by the athletes’ insistence that the Games be postponed ahead of the date that the head of the International Olympic Committee had set as a deadline to make the decision. I understood his desire to put off the decision in hopes that the pandemic would stay contained enough to allow the Games to go on as scheduled, and I didn’t see why the athletes couldn’t continue their training for an extra month or so until the decision to postpone the Games was finalized. It is only now in hindsight, after seeing what the delay has done to change the fortunes of so many athletes, that I realize that they were simply trying to bring some certainty back into their lives. They had prepared for so long for their moment, only to see it taken from them suddenly and unexpectedly. More than anything, they just wanted to know for sure that their plans had been changed so they could begin to adjust, just as all of you had to do when your schools suddenly closed. Some of them had a harder time adjusting than others, and many of them are not at the same peak they were a year ago, but they persevered through the extra year, just as you have had to persevere through your very different year. More than a few of them have admitted to being tempted to give up when the Olympics were first put on hold, just as you may have been tempted to give up when you were suddenly kept out of school, activities and special events you had been looking forward to, but as you watch the athletes and/or read or hear their stories throughout the rest of the Games, you should be amazed not just by their resilience, but by your own as well.
I have always been fascinated by the stories of athletes and teams, the challenges they’ve faced, and all they’ve had to overcome to get to where they are. I realize I am dating myself, but I still remember my excitement whenever the title “Up Close and Personal” was used to indicate a segment when an athlete’s story would be told. It was a much bigger deal then than it is now, because through the expansion of televised and internet coverage of events and the athletes’ presence on social media, we have learned much more about them before their competitions than we once would have, but the COVID protocols and the lack of spectators at the Games has put athletes’ stories front and center once more, and it has been my favorite part of these Games. Every time athletes’ watch parties are shown, or they are given the opportunity to greet family after their victories, I am reminded again of how resilient they are, because along with their dreams of their own performances at the Olympics through all their years of training, I’m sure they dreamed of sharing the experience with their families. I am very glad to see that many of them have been given the opportunity to do so, even if it is in such an unconventional way.
Examples of resilience are everywhere, and are not confined to the experiences of Olympic athletes. As you work to become more resilient through the development of your study skills, as well as through whatever challenges you face in life, keep in mind that behind every amazing achievement you witness, there is a person with a story. Everyone from the most famous Olympic star to the person who sits next to you in class has faced challenges and had obstacles to overcome, whether you are aware of them or not. Whether you follow the rest of the Olympics or not, try to find examples of resilient people in your own life. Knowing that other people have faced and overcome challenges, and that these challenges are as many and varied as the people who face them, is a good reminder that as the new school year starts, you will get the chance to write the next chapter in your own story. You have already overcome a lot this past year, more than you would have ever thought possible, so whether you realize it or not, you already are resilient. As resilient as the Olympians have had to be throughout the pandemic, and have continued to be throughout the Games themselves, you, too, have been resilient, and remembering that as you start your new school year is a good way to make sure that you will keep building your resilience, no matter the new challenges you may face.