Olympic Things To Look Forward To In 2013

Like I said at the end of my previous post, 2013 is not an Olympic year, and that makes me sad. But then I decided that just wouldn't do! I mean, being sad for an entire year? NOPE! And besides, there are plenty of Olympics things happening in 2013 to get excited about. Here's my list!

1. One year until Sochi 2014: February 7th, 2013.

While, on one hand, Sochi feels like a lifetime away, putting things into perspective is the fact that this countdown was once in quadruple digits. That, my friends, was truly disgusting. So suddenly 365 days sounds like nothing! With the way time is just speeding by, just blink and it'll be here! YAY!

2. 33rd anniversary of the miracle on ice: February 22nd, 2013.

Because we should absolutely be celebrating random anniversaries of this country's greatest Olympic moment ever. If nothing else, it's a great excuse to watch Miracle (psh, as if you need an excuse!).

3. 2020 host city announcement: September 7th, 2013.

Jeez, can you believe we're already thinking ahead to the games in 2020?! Man. I remember when London was selected to host the 2012 games, back in 2005. I went to a NYC 2012 host city support rally on my birthday that year, when I turned FOURTEEN, and I went to London 2012 at age 21. That's literally a third of my lifetime. OH MY GOD! And now we're getting ready to start another one of these massive journeys. Are you ready? I remember where I was when I found out that Rio had won back in 2009, and I watched the announcement of PyeongChang won in 2011. So the battle between Madrid, Tokyo and Istanbul should be another one to file away in the memory bank.

4. Opening and Closing Ceremony rumors: summer 2013?

Are you as excited about this as I am? I mean, I don't want to be completely spoiled so I'll be steering clear of leaks. But for London 2012, those didn't start until rehearsals began in earnest out at Dagenham, and that wasn't until June-ish. There were times while I was a volunteer where my friends would be saying, "OMG so-and-so is apparently definitely performing at closing! Has anyone at Ceremonies told you?!" And I'd go into work and find out that claim was completely unsubstantiated. So in the early stages, rumors are, more often than not, just rumors. Watch out for REAL spoilers starting around November, but rumors should start trickling in during the spring or summer!

5. Official team selections: all year.

While all sports and athletes come together for the Olympics into one team, for the rest of the time they're separate entities with all sorts of World Cup events and team tryouts to pick the best of the best to represent America in Sochi. Some sports like biathlon (the more individual events) don't pick their Olympians until the 2013/2014 competition season, but sports with teams that need to practice together before the Olympics are chosen far earlier. Fun fact: the final hockey teams are named in August.

6. Apolo Ohno's Olympic decision: hopefully sometime before I die.

Okay, guys. This decision has to happen eventually. Apolo has been completely mum on whether or not he's going to compete in Sochi or not since he stepped off the ice in Vancouver. In August he said he's 50/50 about a comeback, and in November he said he'd need three months to just train and a year on the ice if he wanted to return for the Olympics. He regularly Instagrams photos of himself in the gym, but it also sounds like he's indulging in lots of R&R, which ain't his M.O. when he's seriously training. Either way, USA short track Olympic team trials are in September, and then the world cup season begins. We'll definitely know then!

And then, when 2013 ends, Sochi is right around the corner in February. See? 2013 won't be such a drought at all!

2012: The Year in Review

I've been seeing various posts like this around the Internet and wasn't going to write one myself. But then I decided that 2012 was quite possibly the best year of my life, so if any year deserves to be reviewed, it's this one.

1. I kicked off the year by traveling to London for a semester abroad...

2. ...And, within a few weeks, was being interviewed for a volunteer position with London 2012 Ceremonies.

3. ...And then I became a volunteer with London 2012 Ceremonies. Best thing that's ever happened to me.

4. I made the most amazing friends. They swept me off my feet. Literally. Multiple times.

5. I fulfilled a lifelong dream and backpacked through Europe! On this trip, I;

• Visited Copenhagen, Denmark, which has been a goal of mine since 4th grade.
• Frolicked in Olympic stadiums in Munich and Berlin.
• Went to the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee and the Olympics Museum.
• Walked around in a concentration camp.
• Traveled between countries by train.
• Lived out of a backpack for three weeks.

6. I passed all of my British classes!

7. I went to London for the Olympics. While it sucked to not be able to get a visa and stay to volunteer over the summer, I wouldn't trade my experience as a spectator for anything in the world.

8. I somehow managed to juggle an internship, a virtual internship, a weekly writing job, and my job at the gym in addition to a class for about a month. Then the virtual internship ended and... I kept doing everything else. And it was REALLY HARD.

9. I survived football season as a sport information intern with the UM athletic department. No small feat, I tell you. And that week or two of basketball/football season overlap? I may have gotten sick, but I did it!

10. I survived the apocalypse. Who's laughing now, Mayans?

The prospect of 2013 makes me kind of sad because it's not an Olympic year, and it's also the first time in my life where I have no idea what I'll be doing. I graduate in May, and then... Russia? Grad school at home? Getting a job? To say I'm not sure is an understatement. But being without a concrete plan means I've got lots of options and, as Herb Brooks once said, "great moments are born from great opportunity."

Bring it, 2013!

A Year Ago Today

I'm big on important dates. (I sat here for five minutes trying to figure out how to make that sound like I'm not talking about going-out-with-boys dates, but it's just not happening.) I like to remember when things happened.

I got my first Endurance callback on April 14th, 2005 (and another one on the same day in 2006). The first day of filming was July 31st, 2006, and I got sent home on August 8th. I graduated high school on June 28th, 2009 (the same day that Billy Mays died. Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett died three days earlier, which was the night of my prom. Fun fact of the day). I moved into my freshman dorm on August 18th (which is my brother's birthday, a fact I will never stop feeling bad about) in 2009. The London 2012 Opening Ceremony was on July 27th, 2012.

And exactly one year ago -- December 20th, 2011 -- I filled out the London 2012 Ceremonies volunteer application.

And look how hopeful and naive I was!

Actually, I just didn't realize that my visa expired in June. Oops? Luckily for me, Laura decided to process my application anyway. We were supposed to be eligible to work in the UK through November to volunteer at all, but... oops? Hah. I think it worked in my favor that Laura is an American living in the UK. When May and June rolled around and I told people I was getting kicked out of the country, they all kind of wondered how I was let in to volunteer in the first place. But then they threatened to kidnap me so I wouldn't have to leave, so I think any indiscretion was forgiven. ;)

I had no idea how freaking awesome THIS would be! Half an hour from closing the door to my flat to signing in at 3 Mills. Best commute ever.

Again, look at me, being all "WEEEEEE I can work at the Olympic ceremonies!" Nope.

Heh, I chose all operations roles. Silly me. I'm so glad casting plucked me from the pool!

This is where I ended up: 

It's kind of crazy that I was filling this out so long ago. Pretty soon I'll be able to say I was in London a year ago, which is unbelievably bittersweet. I miss it desperately and would go back in a heartbeat (seriously. If I had the money, man...). So while the constant ache in my chest sucks, it's hard to look back on my London 2012 experience and do anything but smile. And maybe flail a little bit. 

Because, seriously, how was that real?

Sochi or Bust!

I'm a pretty motivated person. Pretty average when it comes to the day-to-day, sure, but when there's something that I really want? Come hell or high water, I make it happen. Like Endurance; somehow this skinny, bespectacled, introverted kid with no prior TV experience beat out 10,000 other applicants to score a spot on her favorite show in the world. And working for the Olympics; this nutjob couldn't get a job with the US Olympic Committee, so she up and flew halfway across the world and spent four months volunteering with London 2012 Ceremonies.

Me and some fellow L2012C casting department vollies at the Dagenham rehearsal site. :)

Where did she go? She was cool. I miss her.

Basically, I found the perfect thing for me to do after graduation. It's a new school called the Russian International Olympic University. It's a one-year program for a master's degree in sport management, and your modules are Olympics-focused. As if that wasn't enough, it's in Sochi, from September 2013-June 2014. So, while the Olympics are in Sochi in February... follow the breadcrumbs. It makes me all goosebumpy and flaily just thinking about it.

Perfect, right? Absolutely flawless for everything I want to do in my life. Except it costs $30,000, none of which I have. So I haven't been thinking about it like it's a legitimate possibility. When I tell people about it, I say, "It's going to sound ridiculous, but..." and wave it off like it's not for real. A pipe dream, if you will.

But when I was home for Thanksgiving, my wonderful cousin Molly and I were talking about it, and I mentioned that I can't afford it. She waved me off like it was nothing. "You'll find a way," she said. "You always do."

(This is also why Molly doubles as my best friend.)

Hearing that was like a slap in the face in the best way possible. I do always find a way, don't I? So... why have I been so quick to write off RIOU because of $30,000? There are ways to pay for grad school; grants, loans, scholarships, whatever. I just have to find them. And hell, I would basically give a limb to be able to go to this school. It's like a higher power was like, "Hm, what would Darci's ideal life look like after she graduates from college? Let's do that!" Nothing should be stopping me from making this happen for myself. Nothing.

So I have decided to find the girl that made it onto a TV show with just a video camera and a dream, and the girl that found herself at Olympics opening ceremony rehearsals in London because she refused to take no for an answer.

She and I are going to Sochi.