Sunday, March 7, 2010

The Aftermath

To say the least, life has been crazy since the end of our race on February 24th. Bree and I had an incredible run and finished 5th in the world. I think we are both pretty satisfied with our result considering how difficult it was for our USA 3 sled to qualify for the Olympic games. Of course, a medal would have completely fulfilled the dream and getting so close only makes me hungry for more. Our teammates Elana and Erin won the bronze (congrats girls!) and our American team had three sleds in the top six, which is great for our program.

After the completion of our races Bree and I decided we were going to do everything possible to get the FULL Olympic experience. We attended the women’s gold medal hockey game, women’s figure skating, men’s hockey gold medal game and of course we watched Team Holcomb, our fourman bobsled team win gold! With all the Olympic festivities I was barely able to see my family and missed out on meeting Amory (ITA founder) and her family, which I can hopefully do sometime soon.

After the Closing Ceremony I flew home to Chico where I was greeted after a night of no sleep by fifty plus ‘fans’ and supporters from Chico and the Northstate. I was amazed how many people were there that I had never met, but who felt like they knew me by following my journey and living my dreams with me. I honestly did not realize the kind of affect I had over the people in my community. I thought I would come home and go on with life like it was before the Olympics, but my life is forever changed. I went to the post office the following day and Chicoans were coming up to me bursting with pride, shaking my hand and telling me thank you. I never would have thought that I would be getting thanked for following my goals and pursuing my dreams. It is ironic to me because I feel like I should be the one thanking each individual within our community that has helped me reach my goal.

                      My greeting at the airport  (photo from The Chico ER)



 
 
 
 
 
 
 

1 comments:

Amory Rowe said...

Yay, Emily! Congratulations again and again: on your Olympic success, obviously, but also on your fresh and eloquent perspective on your experience at the Games. Onwards and upwards!