It started on March 8, 2020, on March 11th, we got the news from SOMO headquarters that they decided to suspend all events until March 31st. SOMO headquarters will re-evaluate on that day. To be honest, it’s a really smart decision, I know there were disappointment, sadness, and confusion. I know some athletes out there don’t understand what’s going on. And that which makes me sad. I know it’s not just the athletes who are disappointed, I know the volunteers and SOMO staff is feeling this too! When I found out about this, my first thought was, how would the athletes react? I was sad when I heard the news because I would miss the socialization part, going to practices and see the coaches and my friends. Would the other athletes be mad, sad, disappointment or confusion or all of above. I was also worried with no socialization between each other, I know a lot of athletes enjoys that part and some enjoys the competitions. I saw on facebook, how some of my friends who are athletes in SOMO, I saw how they handled it. When I found out that SOMO was planning to do these home live videos of athlete leaders, I was overjoyed! I thought this was a perfect solution, but I wondered on how the athletes who doesn’t have social media, how would they see it? But I thought to myself...all I can do is to help the athletes who are on social media. These videos are a good way to show what SOMO means to the athletes, try new things, and get the athlete leader perceptive. My brother has been doing the live videos with me, when it was my turn, and he really enjoys helping other athletes to keep their heads up and being positive. So far, I’ve been doing, is making a smoothie, fit 5 exercises, talk about what to do when you get down/hurt and much more. Another thing that was sad was one of our state competitions (Indoor games) was canceled. This is the second state competition that was canceled. For my closing, I would like to tell my fellow athletes this: you aren’t alone, we all feel the same way you do, keep your head up, and think about positive thoughts. SOMO is STRONG!! If you were interested to see the videos i was talking about, please visit: https://somo.org/athome
