August 13, 2016. The day Puerto Rico made history in the Olympics. Monica Puig, professional tennis player ranked No. 34, made her Olympic debut this year in Rio 2016 representing the PUR team in women's individual tennis. After flying through all the games, she beat two-time Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic at the semi-finals and passed on to play for the gold against German Angelique Kerber, ranked No. 2. After about two hours of tension and wanting to yell 'PUÑETA' every second, Monica beat Kerber with the final score being 6-4, 4-6, 6-1. I will never forget that moment. The whole Island became paralyzed and everyone was in tears, because in that moment Monica did more than just win a gold medal. Like she said, she united a nation and we Puerto Ricans can't thank her enough.

While fans present at the Olympics were chanting 'Si se puede', which means yes you can, when Puig dropped down to her knees after securing the gold medal, we over here in Puerto Rico could not contain ourselves. Everyone was screaming, social media was filled with the hashtags #Picapower and #Puigñeta, tears were flooding everywhere, flags were being waved, and the whole Island froze to celebrate Monica's big win. Our hearts were filled with pride because she became the first Puerto Rican to be an olympic champion, bringing home the gold medal and for the first time our national anthem, La Borinqueña, would be played at the Olympics for the whole world to hear. A few friends in the states don't understand what the big deal is and have asked me why we were so excited about winning a gold medal, but the thing is, our hype isn't just about the gold medal. It's much, much more than that.

With her #PicaPower, Monica has achieved a lot more than just our first gold medal. She has made a new period for the indebted Island and has completely united a nation, created optimism that had been absent for years and years and sent that national pride racing through the roofs. It wasn't about the game. It was about uniting thousands and thousands of people from around the tiny island, and even those Puerto Ricans scattered all around the world, putting political ideologies and financial struggles aside and having hope. Hope that together, with perseverance, ambition, and determination, we can overcome each and every obstacle and run the world. We have to fight for our rights, to have more solidarity and find reasons to be proud of who we are, instead of just having negative newspaper covers all around. Monica's gold helped us remember that we're fighters and gave us faith that, even in moments of adversity, we can win and we can rise, regardless of whatever crisis we may have. If there's one thing we should live by is the Pica Power. The Spanish word "picar" means "to cut," and like Monica's cousin explained, "The path will always be full of stone and obstacles. But what Monica does is cut stones along the way to get where she wants to be”. This is something we, especially us millennials, should apply not only to Puerto Rico but to our every day lives. Whatever goal you have, there will always be different lanes that will distract you from the finish line and many, many obstacles along the way. Getting though them and cutting all those stones is hard and can be very difficult, but with perseverance, resilience, and grit, everything can be achieved. So thank you Monica, you're our pride and joy. Thank you for showing us that no matter the circumstances, Si se puede. Que viva Puerto Rico!