On July 27th, we will all be sitting around the TV, watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympic games in London. We will all watch, albeit a little bit bored, and listen to Bob Costas wittily describe the opening ceremony. But when the Greek flag will enter the stadium first, then we will all feel a little bit taller, a little bit prouder, a little bit more special. We will look to our American friends in the room and make a comment or two about how proud we are of our ancestors and history.
Behind the flag there will be a couple of dozen of proud athletes who have overcome various challenges to be there; one of them will be one of our own. She could be your sister, your daughter, your friend. Tina Kefalas will enter the Olympic Stadium wearing the Greek colors and her sparkling smile, as a representative of all Greek-Americans. Tina, born and raised in San Francisco, grew up like all of us–church every Sunday, Greek school (despite her complaints), and Greek dancing. She studied and worked hard to be accepted to USC and then life’s circumstances brought her back to Greece to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a world-class athlete and competing on the world stage. Tina represents all of us who have a dream, pursue it with all our heart, fail, and try even harder to attain in. Life’s setbacks, injuries, and obstacles make us stronger. We set goals, we focus, and eventually we achieve them. Tina eventually reached her goal to compete in the Olympics in its most representative event–the Marathon.
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