Memory

Do you ever wonder why you remember somethings and forget others?  Like why you can still belt out the lyrics to every En Vogue song ever made and still remember your first pair of cleats, but can't remember the name of that super important person you met yesterday?  I used to think I had a great memory, but now I don't know if it's all the hits in the head I've taken over the years in sports (bobsled has definitely added to that) or the fact that I'm getting older (although I like to still believe I'm not that old- although the elementary schoolers tell me otherwise), but I don't remember things as well as I used to.  Even things like songs- I can't remember the lyrics as well as before!

Now yes, some of the things you remember may have to do with things like repetition and importance, but the question is always- why do we remember what we remember?  

Often you also remember the bad things that happened to you, the bad things people said to you, and the just plain bad people.  Why is it so easy to forget the good stuff and remember the bad?

I've created so many memories since my run to the Olympics and post-Olympics.  I've had a blast getting the opportunity to do so many different things, and meet so many amazing people.  I just keep finding myself wondering if I'm going to remember these times later when times get tough- because they do for all of us- Olympic medal or not.  

I'd like to think I can remember everything- that I'm going to remember the excitement and the joy of every single bronze medal moment, but I fear I won't be able to.  I suppose the important thing is to take advantage of those bronze-medal moments, because we all have them.  Remember the good times, and try to throw away the bad.  There's only so much space in there for memories, and I want mine to be good ones.  So the question I pose to you is this, what do you want your memories to be?  Go out and make them- and make 'em good!

SAMMY

This weekend I had the privilege of being the guest speaker at the SAMMY awards, hosted by USA Today and Body By Milk, the makers of the Got Milk? Ads.  The event was in Disney World, and I had a blast!  SAMMY stands for Student-Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year, and its award given to only 25 seniors nationwide, seniors who represent the best student-athletes in the country.  All of these students are incredibly well rounded and give so much back to their communities, it was an honor just to be a part of it.   The athletes receive a scholarship, a trip to Disney World, and appear in an ad for milk in ESPN the Magazine and USA Today.  Oh yeah- and did I mention I won this award in 2002?  lol  Not only did I speak at their welcome reception, I also got to know many of the student-athletes and attended shared fireworks and dessert with them and their families at Epcot.  It was truly a great experience and I had a lot of fun and everyone should look out for these superstars- cause they're amazing!

As part of my speaking, I created a poem about the SAMMY winners, and I promised them I would post it here on my blog. So here it is:

So you graduated from high school and thought you were done,

4 years of hard work, now look what you’ve won!

Winning a SAMMY award is a quite a big deal,

I’m sure you’ve pinched yourself, not believing its real.

There’s 25 of you all, so let’s break it down for the masses,

So we can applaud what you’ve done on the fields and in your classes.

SAMMY winners come from all over this great nation, our homeland,

Zak Aossey hails from Texas, where everything is grand.

Lauren Boden from Georiga, reppin’ the A,

Kansas is the home state of the one and only, Casey McVay.

Celeste Hoelzl hails from CT- home of my Olympic teammate,

Katherine Skinner from NY- my new residing state.

Mary Bennion from Oregon with a coastline so great,

And Eric Steingruber of Idaho, who’s zip code starts with 8.

David Daines of Utah, home of a bobsled run,

While Alexandra Geesey surfs in Florida, which sounds like lots of fun.

Can’t forget Ashley Vandolah of Montanta- I’ll be there very soon!

Lauren Peterson sings Beautiful Nebraska, as that’s her state’s tune.

SAMMY winners compete in all sorts of sports,

 You’ll find Annie Rempel starring on the tennis courts.

Tevin Hood and Ellie McCardwell hold it down for cheerleaders,

And 11 of you run track at various distances and meters.

You’ve got Nicholas Hadorn of motor cross fame,

Emma Lucken and Amanda Hall call skiing their game.

Speaking of games can you leave out Aleksandr Golovin with chess?

While Hannah Fitton proves she’s one of swimming’s best.

Leah Coats and Kyle Pollock spend their winters on wrestling mats,

While Stetson Thacker spends his spring swinging baseball bats.

James Matthew Mackovjak and Wynton El both enjoy a day on the pitch,

And Shelby Lawson proves that basketball’s her niche.

I haven’t covered everything about you as there’s so much more to say,

But I don’t want to ruin the surprise because you’ve got icebreaker games to play.

So congrats on your SAMMY award- this is a moment to remember.

And remember your time at Disney World, during your first college finals in December.


If you are a senior and would like to apply for a SAMMY award, visit http://www.bodybymilk.com/sammy_scholarship.php  

Team of the Year!

Every year we have a USBSF Annual Camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  This year we did a multitude of events, including yoga for four hours, the incline, water polo, wheelchair basketball, and visited with the Wounded Warriors of Fort Carson.  Every year, the event culminates with a gala, where awards are given based on performance from the past season.  A picture of Erin and I was put on the white wine bottles, while the Night Train (the gold medal team) was put on the red wine bottle.  Additionally, Erin was named Women's Bobsled Athlete of the year, teammate Jamie Greubel was given the Athlete's Choice Award, and Erin and I were co-team of the year with the Night train!  This perhaps was the last real celebration of us as a team, as now we become competitors.  Here's to the last four years!  Now to prepare for the next four!

Par-Tee!

Recently, I was invited by Ted Hall of Channel 11 News to a Par-Tee, a pre-party for a golf tournament for the American Cancer Society, Swing Fore a Cure. The Par-tee was a blast, I met a lot of amazing people, and I even donated some items to auction off. The little girl who ended up winning the autographed helmet and picture I donated actually heard me speak at Cogburn Woods Elementary and was very excited about her winnings. Best of all, all of the proceeds go to the American Cancer Society!  Great event and I was honored to be a part of it. Hopefully I can go again next year!

Advocare and losing 16lbs!

Ok- so in order to compete for bobsled I need to weigh about 170lbs. I am naturally a bigger girl and can put on muscle just by looking at weight- so this is a rather difficult weight for me to reach. I weighed 168lbs when I started high school- so getting down to 170lbs is going to be quite a challenge- but I'm up to it! In order to help me kick start my weight loss, I am going to do the 24 day challenge by Advocare- starting sometime next week as soon as all my products get in. I'm very excited to start the weight loss process and can't wait to see the results. With Advocare, it's quality insured which means I won't test positive for taking their products and they produce results! I'm so excited, but I'm inviting all of you to join me in my weight loss. Here is the website that explains more of the process:

http://web.mac.com/teamadvocare/BigBelief/24_Day_Challenge.html

And this is the website that you can use to purchase products- but as always you can contact me if you need more information or help:

https://www.advocare.com/10064308/Store/default.aspx

Happy Weight loss! I'll be sure to update with my progress!

Latest Article on TeamUSA.org

Hello everyone! Just wanted to post an article about me on TeamUSA.org. The article is about all the different things I do to make money and fundraise, and also about how the USOC helps it's athletes out by providing things like training centers. The article link includes a video and a photo gallery, so be sure to check it out! Brandon Penny did a great job on this one, and it was a pleasure meeting him during my week in Colorado Springs at the training center (I'll post more about the trip as soon as I get my pics downloaded). At any rate, check it out!

http://www.teamusa.org/news/2010/06/07/meyers-appreciative-of-the-support/36402?ngb_id=3

Here is the video BTW:

Autograph Requests

Since winning the bronze medal I get quite a few autograph requests. I want to give all my fans and followers a chance to get an autograph. I have been doing several autograph signings here in Douglasville, but many of my fans don't live in Douglasville. If you would like an autograph, please send a self-addressed stamped envelope and something to sign (picture, newspaper clipping, piece of paper, etc). to the following address:

Elana Meyers
USA Bobsled
196 Old Military Road
Lake Placid, NY 12946

Please note: if you do not include a stamped return envelope I will not send you anything back! As I've stated on other blogs, unfortunately I do not get paid and cannot afford stamps to send everyone something back. Also- I do not have pictures to send for general autograph requests, I will sign pictures you send, but again, the printing of pictures cost money- which I do not have at this point. Hopefully someday I will be able to honor all requests by sending you a personal picture from me, but I apologize as I cannot at this time- but you can still get an autograph! Just send me a letter and follow my instructions!

I look forward to hearing from you!

As always, no donations are required for an autograph but greatly appreciated and accepted :)