Julie Schneider
For Fantasy Gymnastics Purposes Only any names on here are made up and any similarities to real people is completely coincidental
06.25.05
In what has perhaps been a most turbulent year, I feel it is time to make a statement in regards to what is going on. I'm sure you've all kept up on your current events so I won't bore you with facts and figures about Bush's Conservative Self-Serving Apocalypitc Agenda, nor will I waste your time with discussions about how someone as ignorant and arrogant as "Ah-nold" could possibly be charged with governing the greatest state in the union. Those and all other topics regarding what odious, nefarious, depraved beings our current tyrants are, will be held over for a later date.
So here you have it. This summer instead of cheering my little sister on in Athens, I will be at home (for the most part) assistant coaching at my family gym. What is a family gym? Is it a place where we all go and sit around on our collective asses while waiting for someone to shine sun up our cracks? No. It's a place where we train and work together towards a common goal. A family gym is a place where the pictures on the walls remind us of where we come from and where we're going, where someone who knows us is never too far away. It's a magical place, not magic in the sense of odd things happening, but magical in the sense that we can all work with each other day after day and still want to come back together again over holidays or when we're on break.
When I started gymnastics I was pretty young. Ruth and I started around the same time, but her family lives in Palo Alto, and mine of course lives in La Jolla. I don't think it ever really mattered to anyone if two of us were involved in gymnastics. I'm not really sure how I got started, I don't remember the exact moment, but I imagine it had something to do with my Aunt Carol. She's been a Coach for as long as I've been alive and probably even longer. Beyond that she's got a Bachelors and a Masters from Stanford University, which is a wonderful thing because she's a really smart lady.
When Lily, Anne and Jessica and the rest of the family started gymnastics we still didn't really train together. I'm not sure why nobody thought of the idea sooner, but I suppose it was because we were still pretty young. It wasn't until 2001 that most of us moved to a common gym, and that was brought on by a bad situation that Lily, Tanya, Mae and I wanted to get out of. I think our cousins moved there because they'd heard about the great facility and how wonderful the coaches were. Even still, Kate and Tess were practically babies then, so little. After many trials with back and forth things happening with gyms we all decided it was time to get serious and Aunt Carol and my Mom suggested we open a gym. I was going to attend college soon, and I think my parents were hoping that the gym would be near them... but the rest of the family isn't down there so it ended up being in San Francisco, near Aunt Carol and Bitty. I'm sure you can imagine what I'm going to say next. At any rate, the parents bought a facility and we packed our things and moved. What a blessing it's been to be in the Bay Area with my family so close. Even though I don't live or train with them, as I'm attending college, it's nice that they're a car ride away.
Some people are afraid of the fact that we're a family and we want to train together using our techniques, and that's fine. They can be as afraid as they wish because it's not going to change who we are or break us apart. Perhaps it's jealousy that's provoking this sudden war, or perhaps it's some misguided sense of loyalty to someone who never had a problem. I don't know the details, but I do know that with everything that has happened, we aren't going to change who we are, or what we stand for. If I had to sum them up I'd say...
Ruth is quiet and strong, a true leader in her own right. She's the one who always helps us to focus and is like a mother sometimes.
Anne is vibrant and sparkling and everything else that goes with having jumped head first into the pop-culture scene and never come out.
Jessica is a dreamer with her head constantly in the clouds. She's an amazing person who loves to read and write stories.
Lily is as wild and excitable as she is focused and intelligent. She's the one who gets us all energized for daily life, and lives a 25-hour day.
Rachael is an explorer and an innovator, always looking for ways to improve herself and the world around her.
Tanya is bold and doesn't hesitate to speak her mind, but she tells it like it is. A rare skill in a world of political correctness.
Johanna is rarely quiet, but seems that way if you're not paying attention. A natural gymnast she is like a mini-Lily with a little extra stealth.
Aimee is the biggest sister of us all. With many little sisters she is constantly concerned with them and can even lose herself in their excitement.
Bitty is serious, quiet, shy, brilliant. What can you say about someone who could probably get a perfect score on her SATs while doing vault?
Tess is pretty-in-pink. She's a true girly-girl and loves to dress up everything she comes in contact with, including gymnastics.
Kate is shy but just a drop of her smile could brighten up a room. She is more caring then most people and is probably the most huggable in our family.
Me? I'm just Julie. I guess I'm the one who started this whole thing but certainly I won't be the one to end it.
12.01.04
Too tired to write.
09.04.04
So I won't officially be back at Stanford until the 27th of this month, but we're already doing some training. Dawn Losmer will be arriving here and I'll try and buddy up to her like she did for Lily. Stanford is bigger then most people think. Lil did great in Athens, and I felt really bad that my name kept coming up. Can't people accept that I'm in college... for now. Don't read too much into that folks, I won't be graduating until 2006 and I have no intention of trying to graduate, compete as a Cardinal AND train independently for Worlds. I guess Gymnastics will have to live without this Schneider at least until I finish college. That will leave plenty of time for 2007 I suppose. We'll see though. Dawn, if you read this, WELCOME TO STANFORD! You're a CARDINAL now!
06.03.04
I know I totally should have written you earlier, but I just found out and college's don't give a lot of free time when you're competing. I am Junior National Champion and proud of it! The one and only Cardinal who won while they were in College.