“Winning Balance” is an autobiography written by a
20 year old Shawn Johnson whose dream it was to make the 2008 USA Olympic
Gymnastics Team. Johnson takes us on the journey from her childhood antics
right through Olympic experience and onto her successful career as a contestant
on the hit show “Dancing with the Stars.” I was enlightened by her writing and
felt somewhat inspired after completing this novel as I felt a special
connection between her thoughts and my own. Ever since I first saw her compete
way back in 2006 at the tender age of fourteen, I could see her potential and
have aspired to her ever since then. It’s not just her gymnastics I admire but
her attitude, work ethic and her passion for the sport. It was a complete
delight reading this book and to be quite honest, I was sad that it had to end!
From the first few chapters I couldn’t even begin
to realise how perfect this read was for me. She writes, “So many people try to
force success but my parents just wanted me to be happy, not necessarily a
happy gymnast.” Johnson’s every thought about
competition and training that reached the page mirrored mine. For example, she
has a rule that she doesn’t look at the scoreboard during competitions purely
because she wants to focus on herself and nobody else. This is my mind set at
competitions as I figure that you can only control your gymnastics. Johnson
taught me throughout this book that a person’s courage may not always roar. It
may just be the voice telling yourself that you’ll try again tomorrow. So often
people give up because it’s the easiest way out but I find that trying
something again will always be more rewarding. Even though I’m not an Olympic
athlete, I found that I could relate to this book on so many levels. She was so close to giving up at different stages of her career but
always fought through those hard times. Even as a five year old, her parents
were told that she had no talent and that her gymnastics wouldn’t come to
anything. Now that I know this, I admire her so much more as a gymnast now.
After countless times of not being good enough, she persevered. It must feel
good for her to be able to turn around to all those people and say “look at me
now!” with four Olympic medals around her neck.
Throughout this novel, Shawn exposed her
exhilarating Olympic experience. Along with all the competition preparation,
the excitement of the Opening Ceremony and competing in front of a worldwide
audience she explains her inner most thoughts and things that I hadn’t
originally thought would have happened during the Olympic Games. I was
surprised when she described her crush from the room below where they were
staying in the Athletes village. It was adorable the relationship they had as
she finally found someone who understood her motive to be an Olympic champion
and train forty hour weeks. It was interesting reading this part of the book as
these are the personal details that you never really hear of through the media. It gave me perspective on how hard it is for people like Shawn to
maintain normal relationships yet how important they are. I learnt how crucial
it is to have a balanced life-style between work, school, friends, sport and
your faith. Shawn really grasped this idea throughout the book and it’s
incredibly inspiring to see how she did it.
From reading this book, I realised how much of a
down to earth and humble person she is. Going into the Beijing Olympics, she
was expected to bring home the gold in the most anticipated competition: the
individual all around. Much to everyone’s shock, she was outscored by her
fellow American team mate – Nastia Liukin. The media portrayed the silver medal
Shawn won as a bad thing but in this book she described it as being the best
feeling ever. It was her most accomplishing moment. Being the modest sixteen
year old she was at the time, she was over the moon by placing second at the
Olympics even though many others were disappointed in her performance. She said
it meant even more than her gold medal on the balance beam which signified to
me the kind of person she is. She’s all about personal enjoyment and how
achieving your own goals aren’t necessarily reflected by a gold medal. Her goal
was to compete in the all around at the Olympics and that’s exactly what she
did, getting the silver medal was just a bonus. She won in her own way which is
a really important message people can take from reading this book. So often
achievements are looked through without any recognition but everyone should be
able to take pride in what they have accomplished, no matter how big or small
the accomplishment is.
This book truly inspired me and it was in ways, an awakening about what I want to achieve in my future. Not only does her gymnastics inspire me now but her mind set and her various achievements not related to sport. If you have a dream, nothing can stop you from reaching it but yourself. Shawn emphasises that everybody is good at something and its people who utilise those talents who end up being the successful ones. Shawn Johnson was just your typical small town girl except when she got presented with an opportunity, she ran with it. While reading this implausible book, I discovered how important it is that if you want to reach your goals, it’s imperative to believe in yourself. Once you have this quality, you’re invincible. “Winning Balance” is certainly a must read. Shawn Johnson is a perfect example of a girl who simply believed in herself and had a dream. After years of hard work, she achieved something most humans would never be able to do and is now a role model to numerous girls all over the world who will hopefully someday become the next Shawn Johnson.
Article By Olivia Browne (@biebeeerxo)
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