Mount Vernon High School

September 6, 2024 So...What's Your Excuse? Last month Paris hosted the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad. Athletes competed on the world's biggest stage and provided two weeks worth of entertainment and inspiration for sports lovers like me. And while the traditional Olympic experience is done for another four years, there's still some high-level competition happening in Paris this week. The Games of the 17th Paralympics are currently underway. The Paralympics are an international sports competition for more than 4,000 athletes with disabilities. Watching some of these events, in all honesty I found, can be somewhat uncomfortable. Amputations and impairments and disfigurements make competing more complicated for many of the athletes, and it elevates a sense of pity in any of us who possess some compassion. There's no way not to notice the tragedy and hardship that's a part of their story - the extent of which most of us will never know. But one thing I’ve learned from watching this week is that whatever sadness could exist in the Paralympic experience is overwhelmed by an avalanche of courage and competitiveness. Despite the tragedy and hardship these athletes have endured, there’s not a hint of victimhood to be found. This is a collection of tough-minded, highly skilled athletes who exhibit incredible levels of dedication and determination. They've challenged me this week to examine and evaluate my own levels of dedication and determination. That’s a humbling, but valuable experience I thought you might consider today, too. This week I watched Chinese swimmer Guo Jincheng dominate the 50m freestyle in world record fashion. He looked like a machine, plowing impressively through the water…with no arms. There was this high jumper, well out of medal contention but committed to clearing his final height…and doing it all on one leg. And how about American archer Matt Stutzman’s clutch bullseye to advance in sudden death of his competition? He eventually went on to win gold…shooting a bow with his feet. I've seen so many awe inspiring performances this week, and each one validated for me once again the harsh reality of what high achievement requires from anyone. How many hours of unseen practice must each of these athletes committed to in order to earn their Olympic opportunity? Each one highlighted once again the dedication and determination that define those we consider champions in any area of life. Each performance also kept bringing me back to a singular question, one each Paralympian may as well have stared through the TV screen and asked me straight to my face. “So...what’s your excuse?” their performances repeatedly challenged me to consider. That’s an important question I have to answer in the areas of life where I say I want to win, and an important question for you to consider in those areas of your life, too. That’s such an important question because excuses are the ultimate performance impairment. Choosing to play the victim is one of the easiest and least productive decisions any of us can make. As a society, we are so easily crippled by adversity, and so quick to identify whatever injustice or unfairness we’ve allowed to keep us from going where it is we say we want to go. When we do try, it's often with our minds already half made up - that this thing is too hard, that we’ve been wronged too severely, or that our pursuit is now too complicated to succeed. We give up and give in too easily. That’s why it’s valuable to have people like Paralympians around, demonstrating the dedication and determination that exposes our weakness and challenges us to raise our game. It's good sometimes to witness the kind of performance that looks us straight in the face and asks, “So...what’s your excuse?” We need people who show us what it looks like to compete like champions, so we can continue to work towards creating that winning identity for ourselves. Thanks, Paralympians, for showing us how it's done. -Travis