Beijing, China.....It's really over

It's that time,

I hate to have to say bye to China and all the volunteers who helped out and made the Olympics a success. It was great, the weather stayed nice and the pollution was not at all a problem. Beijing was a very beautiful city to visit and I will admit I enjoyed taking photos with the locals. They enjoyed encountering the Americans and when they took a photo I noticed they would always put up the peace sign. That was something I had not seen in a while. But I wish you all were able to be there.

After the relay we had so many reporters to talk with. It was amazing how we all still held up after just running. Ha so many reporters complemented us on the fact that we didn't even look like we had run because our hair was in place and we had on make up. Our little secret...prior to the awards cermony we are able to change our clothes to the medal stand gear and fix ourselves up. We ended the night going to talk with NBC and we did our interview rooftop with the Bird's Nest behind us. It was definitely a pretty sight.

The next day I went to visit Chris at BNU where he was staying. He had this weird look and I asked him what was wrong. His response was that he was sad.....sad because the Olympics were over. I was shocked at first but then it hit me too, everyone in the building was packing up. The dining hall was serving the last meal of the day and had a lot of things packed and ready to go. Track and Field was the event to end out the Olympics and now what we worked hard for was OVER. Only the memories shall live on! What would we do now? What would we work toward. Our biggest event of the year and what everyone talked about...was done. Chris and I walked to his room and I helped him pack his bag. We looked at each other and both said, "Job well done", and walked into the elevator.

The Olympics come once every four years, but will be present in my life everyday because of my medal. Please pass along my story to anyone who doubts that they can make it in life, get to their dream or look toward the future. Because remember if I had given up....this would not have happened for me. Strive for your dreams and you will reach your goal.