Today is my 21st Birthday and it proved to be a memorable one for sure. It started with a trip to Oxford Circus so that we could all go shopping for presentable clothes to wear to the unexpected cocktail party we would be attending later in the evening. I had already brought khakis and a sweater so I bought a blue Oxford and a tie to match and considered that good enough.
From there we headed over the the Wembley Barracks, where, once checked in, we were escorted up to a lounge like room where we would be meeting and playing with some inner-city London kids in the first annual Color War competition. We also got the opportunity to listen to former Olympians, such as Swimming Gold Medalist Ada Kok (the Netherlands) and Track Silver Medalist Grace Jackson (Jamaica), speak about the importance of Goal setting, Perseverance, Attitude, and Dreaming in order to be successful, no matter what you do. In between each speaker we had different competitions (Broad Jump, Planks, Push Ups, Balance, Bowling, and Limbo) between the various teams in order to crown a champion. I was on the Red (Congo) team and we were professional Silver Medalists, finishing second in almost everything but not winning at all.
After the fun and games were finished we got dressed up and moved to the Officer's Club where a cocktail party had been arranged for us to have the opportunity to mingle with the the former Olympians and ask them anything and everything we could. I spent a lot of time talking to a Venezuelan 1:43 800 runner who was a coach and is now an Athletic Director at Connecticut College. I also got the chance to speak with an American wrestler who is a very successful lawyer and who gave me some really good advice on picking a Law School and what I should look for early on in my career.
To cap off the night, some of the group took me out to a club near the Clink called the House of Nations where we celebrated the end of my birthday with a bunch of Brits and the Olympic torch as well. You only turn 21 once and to do so in London during the Olympic Games was a pretty amazing experience!
From there we headed over the the Wembley Barracks, where, once checked in, we were escorted up to a lounge like room where we would be meeting and playing with some inner-city London kids in the first annual Color War competition. We also got the opportunity to listen to former Olympians, such as Swimming Gold Medalist Ada Kok (the Netherlands) and Track Silver Medalist Grace Jackson (Jamaica), speak about the importance of Goal setting, Perseverance, Attitude, and Dreaming in order to be successful, no matter what you do. In between each speaker we had different competitions (Broad Jump, Planks, Push Ups, Balance, Bowling, and Limbo) between the various teams in order to crown a champion. I was on the Red (Congo) team and we were professional Silver Medalists, finishing second in almost everything but not winning at all.
After the fun and games were finished we got dressed up and moved to the Officer's Club where a cocktail party had been arranged for us to have the opportunity to mingle with the the former Olympians and ask them anything and everything we could. I spent a lot of time talking to a Venezuelan 1:43 800 runner who was a coach and is now an Athletic Director at Connecticut College. I also got the chance to speak with an American wrestler who is a very successful lawyer and who gave me some really good advice on picking a Law School and what I should look for early on in my career.
To cap off the night, some of the group took me out to a club near the Clink called the House of Nations where we celebrated the end of my birthday with a bunch of Brits and the Olympic torch as well. You only turn 21 once and to do so in London during the Olympic Games was a pretty amazing experience!