As I’m sure some of you know, 2008 Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson spoke in the Eisenhower Auditorium last Wednesday night. ( Ironically enough, originally, I was unaware that she was actually planning on coming, but one day about a week beforehand my close friend from the University of Delaware gave me the heads up.) Because Shawn’s my absolute favorite Olympic gymnast, I just had to get tickets, and one day before my math recitation I managed to get two tickets to the event.
I had decided to go to see Shawn with some girls from gymnastics club, and we wound up being the first people in line, being seated in the first two rows. As the auditorium filled up, I noticed that there were many mothers with young daughters, who I’m sure were all gymnasts just as excited as I was. I thought it was adorable that parents traveled all the way to State College just so their daughters could see one of their idols, and it demonstrated their love and devotion to their children.
When Shawn came onstage, everyone cheered wildly, but when she began her talk it became dead silent. She discussed her childhood, issues with bullying and being the outcast, and how she handled all of it, lessons that many people in the audience could easily relate to. Something that also struck me was the fact that no one in her high school knew that she was a gymnast until the Olympics; she had kept the entire essence of herself hidden from her peers.
Another topic that Shawn focused on was the idea of pressure. When she became a part of the Olympic team, she had never lost, and because of that the world expected her to be on top. Given that Shawn was only sixteen years old, she was a champion. She described the feelings of failure and disappointment that followed when she received the silver medal rather than gold, and how she eventually overcame these emotions and began charity work.
Shawn’s speech was extremely inspirational and influential. She demonstrated that even though life can sometimes be difficult to handle, you can overcome those struggles and become a better person because of them. I am so happy that I was able to have the experience of listening to her speak, and she is definitely someone I look up to.
Funnily enough, I also heard that Shawn Johnson was coming from one of my good friends at Delaware. My friend is a huge gymnastics fan and she kept bugging me to go. It sounded pretty interesting, but it wasn’t at the top of my priorities. I was watching a hockey game on TV one night when I caught sight of The Collegian on the table. The headline was something along the lines of “Shawn Johnson Speaking Tonight.” So, needless to say, I didn’t make it to see her. I’m glad you had a a great time, though, and I’m sad to have missed a good speech!
I cannot believe that Shawn Johnson was on Penn State campus and I did not know about it! She is my favorite olympic gymnast, and I was rooting for her all throughout the 2008 olympics. I am so jealous that you got to hear her speak of her experiences throughout her life and about her feelings of gymnastics. She is such an inspiration and a fantastic role model. Because she was so young I always thought she would continue her gymnastics career, I was very disappointed to see that she did not. However, I am very curious to see what she is doing with her life now.