Thursday, August 23, 2018

THE OLYMPIC GAMES AND ME

I watched the Olympic Games for the first time in 1992. I was ten years old then and Barcelona 92 stunned me. In fact, I was expecting Special Vacations, a program that ran from 4pm to 6pm at the CRTV channel where they showed cartoons and stuff for children during the holidays. But the program was interrupted because there were these games that were going on. Of course, I would have preferred cartoons but I was obliged to watch the games.

I was amazed at the performance of the gymnasts. I wanted to become a gymnast right away. I started walking on surfaces, on bed boards, on tables and I jumped down and thought I would become a gymnast. I did it for long at home. I didn’t know it was something professional; that you had to train to reach the level of those I saw on TV. As a child, I didn’t know how things worked in the world. I believed in dreams that come true. That if you loved with all your heart and believed strongly, it would happen.

As a child, I used to sing and dance and imagine giving a concert. I didn’t know at all that it was a profession and you had to take lessons, and that music had a particular rhythm, and so on. Honestly, I was ignorant of rhyme; that the verses of songs ended with the same sound at the end of each line. I had no idea of that. Just like with cartoons, my passion. I didn’t know people were behind the scenes; that it was someone's work. I only saw the most adorable people in the world on my screen and I loved them with all my heart. So my dream became to meet them. That's how television became so important to me. It was the place where I saw my heroes. And I prayed every night to meet them.

After waiting impatiently, Atlanta 96 finally arrived. Celine Dion sang 'The Power of the Dream'. This song spoke to me a lot. I wanted to be present for the occasion but I only watched it on TV. It is in these Olympic Games that I became aware of the songs sung in the games. I also wanted to sing mine. I stumbled upon Barcelona 92 by chance but I waited for Atlanta 96. 'Return to Innocence' was the opening theme for the Olympic Games program on television. It was magical. My brothers were small at the time, but they still remember that song. As for my sister, she was only a year old then.

The games ended on a Sunday night and I think I watched the closing ceremony alone. Everyone had fallen asleep. But I had waited for this four years; I couldn’t miss it. And it was as I hoped; a music festival. There was this little girl who sang. I wanted to be like her; sing like her at the Olympics. Then a group of children sang 'The Power of the Dream'. This song spoke to me. I am a child, very committed to my dreams and in 96, I felt that the world was before me. I had talents, gifts and above all love to fulfill my dreams. So I continued with lots of hope.

Sydney 2000 was my Olympic Games. I waited for it; it came and I watched it fully. It was in September and mostly in the morning. School had resumed by then but I didn’t go until the event was over. My classmates told me they thought I wouldn’t be coming to school anymore. They asked why I came so late. I was watching the Olympics, of course.

'We will show who we are, we are the earth, we’re together again'. Tina Arena sang this during the closing ceremony. The opening ceremony was gorgeous with 'Absolutely Everybody' and Savage Garden singing 'Affirmation'. I didn’t have the opportunity to hear these songs at the time, so I only captured them at the event and sang them my way over the years. The Greek introduction was the most solemn moment for me. This song with the Athenians was epic. I sang it many times, using my own words.

After Athens 2004, I said I would participate in the Olympic Games as an athlete and I would start training in athletics. I thought I would be ready for London 2012. Beijing 2008 came at a time when I was going through a crisis. I watched the ceremony yes, but my siblings were not around me. The Olympic Games were not the Olympics if my siblings were not there. I had always dreamed that we would be together in the stadium and shout, as we used to see people shouting on TV. I had always watched the Olympics with my siblings and now that I was away from them, it wasn’t the same thing. They told me later how great Beijing 2008 was.

I returned home and we watched London 2012 together. It was the same year that I discovered Dr. Shawn Smith and his teachings. It revolutionized my world and I came back late from a meeting and watched the opening ceremony only in part. And I was still not present for the occasion. I didn’t become an athlete and I still watched it on TV.

When I learned that the next Olympics were in Brazil, I said I would be there. I wrote letters, requests, asking to sing at the competition. But I received no response. Rio de Janeiro started at 1 o'clock that night. My siblings and I stayed up to watch it. It was fantastic with the history and culture of Latin America. Then, it was revealed to me at the closing ceremony of Rio de Janeiro 2016 that Tokyo will be the next host of the games. Super Mario was at the rendezvous, and Japan was present.

Tokyo 2020 is the Olympic Games I was waiting for. It was all leading to this, I told myself. And I have a song, a wonderful song I composed and I said I wanted to sing it at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. And I want my siblings to be in the stadium while I sing 'Forever People shall not be Denied’.

I love the Olympics, but it only comes after four years. My passion is cartoons, manga and when I learned that Dragon Ball, Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, Attack on Titan, Magi, One Punch Man come from Japan and Tokyo, that became the place I always wanted to be.

Then I realized it was all leading to this. That I sing my most beautiful song in the place where the people I love are manifested in the competition that made me dream. Tokyo 2020 is the perfect Olympic Games for me and I implore you, the IOC, the Commission, the Local Committee and partners to give me the privilege of attending the event with my siblings. I didn’t become a gymnast or an athlete. I didn’t participate in previous games because I didn’t have the opportunity. I ask you, peoples, organizations, structures, governments to make my dream come true by sponsoring me for these Olympic Games of my dream, on the land where my comic book heroes originate.

I'll be getting to 40 by then and it’ll be ideal at this time of my life for my dream to come true. Please, give me a chance; believe in me, you won’t be disappointed. You’ll realize it’s something you’ll be proud of forever because I am awesome, adorable and you will be happy for making me happy. Awesome yet unknown and having no way to display my talents, waiting for you to make me shine for the whole world to see how awesome I am.

Forever people shall not be denied.
Margaret Newmeli

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