Last Friday night, thousands of people gathered in Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to kick off the 2016 Summer Olympics. While the Brazilians put on a show and the athletes marched in wearing their matching patriotic outfits, those of us who couldn't make it to Rio (nor compete in the games) did the next best thing we could: watch them on TV. It may not be exactly the same as being at the actual games or the Opening Ceremony, but when you're someone who loves the Olympics as much as I do, you no longer care. All you care about is making sure you're home in time to watch the primetime showing of Michael Phelps winning another gold medal or the 'Final Five' women's gymnastics team kicking a** and taking names. No matter the sport, athlete, team, or however well my favorites do, the Olympics are a very special bi-yearly event for me that I will always hold near and dear to my heart. Not only do they bring us together, they also serve as a much needed reminder of the good that exists in the world in light of all these recent atrocities.

That is actually one of my favorite things about the Olympics. With everything bad that has been happening throughout the world lately, especially in the U.S., the Olympics gave me a chance to actually be proud of my country and its people. We get to hear the incredible stories behind all of these athletes while watching them accomplish even more incredible feats. This is much better than hearing about another shooting, another act of terrorism, or another ignorant comment from a certain unnamed presidential candidate. I'm aware that just because the Olympics are going on that these events do still occur, but in an ideal world I'd like to think that the world is a little more at peace during this time.

Another reason the Olympics are so special to me is because they can be so inspirational. Like I touched upon in the last paragraph, I love learning about the athletes' stories and their lives outside of their sport. It's so cool to hear about these people with all different backgrounds and reasons for doing what they're doing come together under the shared goal of winning on the world's biggest stage. It's even better for me to see the athletes' passion, drive, pride and love for what they do. Nothing beats seeing the ear-to-ear smile or joyful tears of a competitor when they finish in the top three and know that all of their hard work has been rewarded. I don't care which country the athlete is from--it's amazing either way.

Learning about all of the different cultures of the competing athletes and countries is another positive aspect of the Olympics. I got to experience this first-hand during my time abroad in Spain. But there were so many other countries I never had the opportunity to visit then that I can learn about through the Olympics. In this case, it's Rio and Brazil. The best part of this though is watching all of these different athletes and cultures come together in (relative) peace. I love the fact that even though these athletes are competing against each other you can still see the mutual respect and friendliness/good vibes (for the most part) between them. Witnessing a friendly, congratulatory hug or high-five between athletes from rival countries after an event finishes is what the Olympics is all about.

Before I go on for too long, the last main aspect of the Olympics I like is that it makes me more interested in sports. I'm a pretty competitive person at heart and I like watching certain sports, but I've always preferred being involved in more creative and academic pursuits than athletic ones. So watching the Olympics feeds my competitive spirit (even though I really want to see everyone do well in their respective sports this time) and makes me pay more attention to sports, especially ones like beach volleyball, gymnastics and swimming that aren't given a lot of focus outside of the Olympics.

So long story short, I love the Olympics and the peace and unity that they stand for. If the world could get along all of the time, as well as we do during the Olympics, I think it'd be a much better place. They truly are an inspiring event that shows what we as human beings are capable of. And even though I may never be an Olympic athlete the likes of Michael Phelps or Simone Biles, their stories do teach me to continue dream big and work hard so that I can one day achieve my own dream.