& my world will be coloured.

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Live your dream

"What an amazing opening ceremony."

That was my thought after watching the four-hour long opening ceremony for the 29th Olympics. The entire event took my breath away.

Thoughts, emotions and memories flooded my mind during the entire course of the event...from my childhood till now. The Olympics always had a special place in my heart, more special than any sporting event in the world, including the Euro and the World Cup. I always thought i was the biggest fan of the Olympics (regardless of what others say and i don't care :P)...and in my heart, I am.

Fyi, some of what you're gonna read came from a deep corner of my heart. Things that i've never told anyone ever before that has been with me for some time.

I still remembered the time when i first watched Olympics as a child, and that was in 1996 at the Atlanta Games. I was stuck in front of the tv the entire day, throughout the 16-day competition, glued to everything that's unfolding in front of me. But of course, the interest in sport started way before....if i never recall wrongly...it started from the 1993 SEA Games. That was the time i first saw Joscelin Yeo reign in the pool, and from then on i aspired to be a swimmer. Lol...that never materialised...cos i never had the courage to tell anyone about my aspiration, never had the courage to do what i wanted, and was never given the opportunity. Well, there goes one dream...

And then came the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta where i witnessed my favourite swimmer then - Alexander Popov, pit himself against the infamous Gary Hall Jr (I hope i remember right). Those were the days.

And Sydney 2000, my favourite Games of all time, cos it was held in Australia. I was a HUGE fan of Australia, be it in swimming, soccer, track, or basically any sport which i see their athletes in, i would root for them. The obsession came to a point where i even knew how to sing their national anthem (lol). Yes, I was that crazy. Then, there was my all-time idol - Ian Thorpe, an amazing sportsman whom i will always love and admire. Watching him swim against the worlds best - Pieter van den Hoogenband and Grant Hackett, among the rest. In my eyes, he was the best then, and the best ever...lol. Of cos, who can forget my dear Alexis Nemov, my favourite gymnast! The cutest, sexiest gymnast alive...lol. Perhaps the reason why i loved Sydney most was because my favourite athletes ruled the games (at least for me >.<)...haha.

Athens 2004 didn't leave much of an impression for me, perhaps because i couldn't spend enough time watching it as i was staying in hall. Thorpey wasn't his clinical best either...but always the best to me.

Now Beijing 2008. Beijing was my DREAM. THE dream.

When Beijing was given the 2008 games 7 years ago, i told myself. This is THE games - the games which i will go for. This is MY dream, a dream that i will need to live in 2008. Then came 2008, and the dream again wasn't fulfilled.

Watching the event unfold on television...it seemed so near yet so far. I kept telling myself "This was MY dream...a dream that i sooo badly want to fulfill...but lost track along the way." Now, i had to be contented watching MY dream on tv... and sadly so.

I don't want any unfulfilled dreams anymore. I WANT to fulfill the next dream i have and i MUST fulfill it. Life is simply too short.

Moving on...i've always loved reading sports columns in newspapers...ever since i was 11 and reading the EPL pages in The New Paper. I always enjoyed the humour, the wittiness and the entertainment they provided me throughout the years. Hence then, i aspired to be a sports journalist. And yes, it was never fulfilled as well...and i have no idea if it'll ever be fulfilled. Perhaps that's just not meant to be....haha...

Well, concluded after the games ended that i will not want any regrets anymore. Time to live my dream and to make effort in living it. Currently I have two in mind...and as usual...Allie keeps them to herself =).

Shalom.

allie ♥ 12:10 AM