SOMO News
Guest post: Athlete-leader Lynna Hodgson explains her love of SO
My name is Lynna Hodgson. I’m a Special Olympics Missouri athlete. My whole family is involved with Special Olympics. I have two brothers who are also athletes. The younger brother is involved in Special Olympics in his high school. I recruited my uncle to be in Special Olympics. My other brother, my uncle and I are involved in Lee’s Summit Adults team.
My dad is a 3-on-3 basketball coach and my mom is a big supporter! We’ve been with Lee’s Summit for six years. Before we got involved in Special Olympics, we were “couch potatoes,” that is what my mom called us, those were her own words. She was exactly right! All we did was watch TV, play video games, eat and just sit and be lazy. Now we have weekly practices, we go to tournaments and we travel to different cities in Missouri. We both are going to the 2018 USA Games in July. I never imagined I would get the chance to go in my lifetime.
Special Olympics has changed our lives for the better! We both are more social, more active and we are both aware of other people with disabilities. Jesse and I were always aware, but since we got involved in Special Olympics, we are more aware of people who have disabilities. We always look forward to practices, and seeing our friends; anything that involves Special Olympics, we love it.
Special Olympics has given us a happier and healthier life. We both are very thankful to Special Olympics. They have given us hope, laughter, friends, independence and a place where we can call home. We are very proud to be athletes of Special Olympics Missouri.
If we didn’t get involved in Special Olympics I think we would be very unhealthy. Special Olympics is really good for my health because I have asthma and allergies. It’s also good for our depression; it helps us to be less depressed. So this is really good for me and my brother. I’m so grateful and honored to be in this great organization.