a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_k1DHbqzFvCE/TBkNNSRsIYI/AAAAAAAAA-s/FK-5LgtDdZI/s1600/DSC01127.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_k1DHbqzFvCE/TBkNNSRsIYI/AAAAAAAAA-s/FK-5LgtDdZI/s320/DSC01127.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483428543195783554″ //adiv style=”text-align: left;”The following is the Commencement Speech that I gave at my former high school, National Sports Academy’s 2010 Graduation. It was a honorable opportunity which was important to me, and as I talked with parents and staff afterwards, important to them:/divp class=”MsoNormal”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”color: rgb(0, 0, 128); “To get to speak to you today has created a neat opportunity to assess what I’ve been doing in the last decade since I sat where you are sitting now. I am honored to address you after having created a career in biathlon, which started exclusively at NSA, and after representing you and/span/pp class=”MsoNormal”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”color: rgb(0, 0, 128); ” the US at the Vancouver Olympics./span/p p class=”MsoNormal”span style=”color:navy;”There is something special about reaching a culminating event in one’s life because of how deeply and internally tethered you become to the goal of reaching that event. Making it to my first Olympic team was that type of goal for me. I think it actually existed subconsciously for a lot longer than I realized, especially since I grew up with historic Olympic symbols and venues all around me here in Lake Placid. Once the goal to make The Team was declared, not exclaimed however, it became a quiet and internal contract with my self, observed more through my actions rather than discussion./span/pdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //divimg src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_k1DHbqzFvCE/TBGWbf6FQcI/AAAAAAAAA-k/GB_enje0ViE/s320/30136_402212732299_601322299_4008053_151302_n.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481327620652351938″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; ” / p class=”MsoNormal” style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”color:#000080;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”color: rgb(0, 0, 0); “span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”color:#333333;”ispan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size: small;”{Photo Courtesy of local photographer /span/i/span
