“Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.” If you would have asked me what this phrase meant to me a month or maybe even a week ago I would have said that it sounded nice, but that it had no meaning or great significance to me. However, after having the privilege of volunteering at the West Virginia Special Olympics, my views and feelings of the event and its motto have changed drastically.
When I read the guidelines for this paper on the first day of class and got to the first question “What did I learn,” I honestly thought to myself what could I possibly learn from this? Was I ever in for a surprise, I learned more than I ever imagined about the event itself and those who are actually privileged enough to participate. I never thought that the Special Olympics could actually have such a great impact on those who are involved, me especially. I think that the greatest lesson I learned was that anyone, no matter how smart, how fast, or how old, can accomplish almost anything that they put their mind to. They may not finish first, second, or third, but in the case of the Special Olympics it doesn’t matter at all. Everyone and I do mean everyone is truly a winner.
be a winner. I really enjoyed myself throughout the weekend. My most favorite event didn’t provide prizes or ribbons but did provide a whole lot of amusement. But I guess that karaoke really isn’t a sporting event. A lot of people still participated though. I can’t even begin to express how surprised I was by some of the performances I saw. Some were better than others, but I think they all deserved a prize. They showed more courage and enthusiasm than I ever could even at my most obliterated moments, and that’s when I find myself to be the bravest. The Special Olympics participants I encountered are truly some of the bravest and most hard working people I’ve ever met.
I noticed that when I came upon a person who was a first place or a fifth place winner in a five person race, most of them seemed equally ecstatic no matter what place they had taken. I also learned that at the Special Olympics there really isn’t such a thing as a stranger. I can’t tell you how many times over the weekend I had a participant walk up in front of me and just stand there and look at me. The first couple of times I felt really uncomfortable and just wanted to know why they were looking
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