I'm gonna make this place your home

 {click HERE for pictures}

A little girl once sat on her living room floor, mezmorized by the flipping gymnasts on the screen. She watched them soar through the air, and land perfectly on a mat while the croud erupted in screems and cheers for the gymnasts. She dreamed of one day meeting these gymnasts. See, this little girl was not like the other girls, while others sit on pinterest fangirling about One Direction, and Justin Bieber, She spent long hours in the gym, and always had her nose barried in USA Gymnastics magazines. Some of the other girls had their walls plastered with pictures of their favorite actors, or their favorite singers, but she had her walls plastered with posters of her favorite gymnasts. She wondered what she would say to them if she got the chance.

This little girl became one of the "big dogs" at her local gym. She worked hard. When ever she would start to lose sight of her goals she would watch the recaps of her favorite Olympic moments, and remember the joy she felt when she made her first National Championships, because to her, a National Championships was her Olympic Games. She watched the recaps of her favorite athletes, and their greatest moments. She dreamed of meeting them.

This little girl turned 16. For her 16th birthday she asked for tickets to the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Championships. She wanted nothing else. The show would be held at the Maverik Center on September 27th 2012. She expected to go with just her parents. She expected to sit far away. But she didn't care. She just wanted to go.

One day she got her tickets...and then some more came from her dads work... and then some MORE came from her aunts work. She counted the stack of tickets in her hand. She counted again, certain that she had made a mistake. She hadn't. 21. 21 tickets to the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Championships.

She invited all her closest friends. She invited her family, she invited her favorite team mate. She picked her seats.

She sat on row 11, close enough to see the faces of the athletes.

The grand day came. At the moment she saw the arena she started to squeal with her team mate. She joined the rest of her friends that rode in the other car, and together they entered the arena. They got signatures from her favorite colledge gymnastics team. They went to see what was upstairs. A lady approached her. A lady she did not recognize. The lady told the girls father that she had one extra meet and greet pass. One extra pass that she wouldn't be using. The lady asked them if they wanted it. The girl stood in shock. She was going to meet her idols! She started jumping up and down. She started squealing. The lady handed her the red wrist band and left. This lady never will know the joy this little girl felt that day.

The group split up to go sit in their seats. The girl and her favorite team mate headed down to row 11, seats 18 and 19.

They took pictures of the arena. They cried when they heard the audio from some of the greatest Olympic moments. They cried when their favorite gymnasts came out. They cried when they heard the song Home. They watched the greatest performance they had ever seen. They took lots of pictures. When it was announced that the show was over the girls stomach flipped. She was about to meet her biggest idols.

They found the girls parents and she took the camera. She said she would meet them in the front soon. She left all by herself. She joined the mob of people with red wrist bands. She bought a program. She waited. She walked into the room. The view of her favorite athletes blocked by a line of people, and a big meet and greet sign. But she knew she was now standing in the same room as the last two Olympic all around gold medalists. She saw her favorite athletes. She talked to them. They said happy birthday to her, she tried not to cry. This moment was a dream come true.

She walked out of the arena and hugged her team mate. She showed the signatures to all her friends. She got floated the whole way home, while playing the song Home by Phillip Phillips on her iPod. This song will never play the same in her mind.