seymour, madeline

[madeline rebecca seymour]

MADELINE rebecca SEYMOUR .
nineteen, university student, the gymnast

- - oh hey there, i really like your name.

My name is Madeline Rebecca Seymour. 'Madeline' came from a romance novel my mom was reading while she was pregnant with me. So knowing that, you might think that 'Rebecca' then came from Ivanhoe; but you would be wrong. My dad chose Rebecca; he's a minister, and chose it from the Bible. I like my name; it combines the two main aspects of my life (other than gymnastics): love and faith. But mostly I go by Maddi, or sometimes Mad to the girls on my team; though it sounds a little weird when they're yelling "Go Mad!" like they want me to get rabies or something!

- - hmm, you look like you're twenty-one. am i right?

I'm in my last year as a teenager. I just turned nineteen on March 16th. I was actually born right at midnight between the 16th and 17th, so my parents got to choose which day would be my birthday. My mom wanted to choose the 17th because it's Saint Patrick's Day, and her family is Irish. But my dad wanted the 16th because that way my birthday would be 3-16, like the verse from John's Gospel: "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son; that whosoever should believe in him would not perish, but have everlasting life." Mom's pretty religious too, though not quite as extreme about it as Dad, so it didn't take her long to agree; and from then on my birthday was officially March 16th. I was born in Edmond, Oklahoma, otherwise known as Shannon Miller's hometown - I even went to her high school! - so I guess my being a gymnast was pretty much a given.

- - so i'm guessing you're in college then? or are you going the job route?

I'm a freshman at the University of Utah, though I haven't declared a major yet. But I'm on the gymnastics team - on scholarship, actually - so when I'm not in class, most of my time is spent in the gym, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I enjoy my classes, though I'm not a big fan of homework (but who is?); but I make mostly A's with a few B's, because I'm organized enough that I can keep up with all the work and everything. I don't have time for a job during the school year, but in high school I worked part-time at my gym, coaching a class of preschoolers, and I'm hoping to do the same over the summer, whether I stay here in Utah or go home to Oklahoma. I love working with kids; and when you combine that with gymnastics, which is my ultimate passion, it's just amazing.

- - well that's good. if you don't mind me asking, how is your love life?

I am entirely heterosexual. I don't have any problem admitting it, but it's not like I go out and flaunt myself, yelling out "Hey, I love me some boys!" or anything. I don't have a lot of experience with relationships, though part of that has been my choice; I intend to wait until marriage before having sex. I don't flaunt that either, though; I may be a preacher's kid, but I'm no preacher myself. Still, it's given me trouble in the past. The only serious relationship I've been in was during my senior year; we'd been dating for about six months by the time my senior prom came around, and he wanted us to make our prom night "special" like so many couples do. When I refused, he made it "special," all right - by dumping me on the spot. Ever since then, anytime I've been on a date (which hasn't been often - it's only been a year since then, after all), I've always told my date up front, to keep anything like that from happening again.

As for what turns me on...well, I'm what you might call old-fashioned, so I like guys who are gentlemen. Opening doors, pulling out chairs, carrying books...it's the little things, really, that show me you care. I also have to admit I have a thing for gymnasts; I love a guy who can hold a handstand longer than me. A guy who is strong in his faith; and more importantly, who isn't ashamed to admit it. But most importantly of all, I want a guy who respects me and what I believe in, who won't try and pressure me into anything. Ideally, he would share my beliefs; but whether he does or not, he'd better at least respect them or he's gone!

Now, for turn offs...I don't like guys who take longer to get ready than I do, or who care more about their appearance than I do about mine. But at the same time, I also don't like guys who don't take care of themselves...it's really very simple - you get sweaty, you take a shower. Guys who just party all the time, that's just not cool; there's so much more to life than alcohol. I can't stand guys who put other people down, for any reason. After all, if you'd treat anyone else like that, who's to say you wouldn't treat me the same? I don't like guys who stereotype, who think that because I'm a "preacher's kid" that I'll be the little rebel they can easily get into bed.

- - ah, i see. i hope i'm not getting too personal, but are you particularly religious?

Well, let's see...I was raised right in the middle of the Bible Belt, and my dad himself is a preacher...so yes, I think it's safe to say that I was definitely raised in the Church, Baptist to be specific. So I grew up going to church every Sunday, plus one or two nights a week for various social events and such. That continued all through high school, up until I started college last fall. At first, I still went to church every week just like normal, but then I started getting more and more preoccupied with gymnastics, and then with hanging out with my teammates outside of practice, and before long going to church didn't seem like such a big deal anymore. But then at practice one day, I had what I guess you could call a near-death experience; and ever since surviving that, I've never doubted God's presence in my life, and my faith is stronger than ever.

- - you know, i just noticed, but you really are quite attractive.

I'm pretty short, only about 5'3" - hey, I'm a gymnast! I'm fairly muscular - again, gymnast - but my figure is still very definitely feminine, though neither my chest nor my hips are as fully developed as most. My hair is honey blonde, and it's completely natural; I love the color and would never dye it, I don't think I could even find a dye in a prettier color if I tried. It's naturally wavy, and falls just past my shoulders when it's down; but I almost never wear it down, I have to keep it up in the gym so it doesn't get in the way, so I normally just pull it up in the mornings so I don't have to worry about it later. My eyes are hazel, and thankfully I don't wear glasses; my parents both wear them for reading (and with my dad a minister and my mom a teacher, they both have a lot of reading to do), but I somehow ended up with 20/20 vision. My torso is relatively short, while my arms and legs are long, which is good for a gymnast. I have a little freckle on the top of my left hand ring finger; my mom always called it "God's diamond," because it's right where a wedding ring would go, and I won't cover it up until my husband puts his own diamond there. My hands and feet are rough and callused, especially my hands from the bars, and I constantly have little scrapes and bruises in various places, the price I pay for my passion. My ears are pierced, though I rarely wear earrings because they're too dangerous in the gym. The only jewelry I wear regularly is a tiny cross necklace my parents gave me for my thirteenth birthday; I only take it off when I compete. As far as fashion, well, usually I'm in a leotard; but when I'm not, I'm definitely a girly-girl. I love the cute little tank tops or sweaters, with skirts or jeans, and usually heels. But when I'm going to the gym, I'll just throw on my warm ups over my leotard, and that's also the only time I wear tennis shoes. I wear a decent amount of makeup, particularly for competitions; I don't cake it on or anything, normally it's just some powder or foundation, lip gloss, and eyeshadow.

- - so what kind of things just brighten your day?

I love to read. My favorites are romance novels, whether classic or modern, though Jane Austen is my favorite author, courtesy of my English-teacher-mother; and I also have an old collection of fairy tales that I still never get tired of re-reading. Aside from the romances, my favorite author would have to be C. S. Lewis; I especially love the Narnia books, but his nonfiction is really inspiring too. I love music of just about any sort, though I'm kind of partial to country, being from Oklahoma and all. I also love to sing myself, though my voice would never win any awards or anything. I adore "chick flicks," the typical romantic comedies, though I also enjoy dramas...basically as long as there's a love story of some kind, I'll like it. I like shoes, especially heels; my height needs all the help it can get! Not that I'm complaining; I like myself the way God made me. I like flowers, whether I'm seeing them out in nature or getting them as a gift. I love sunrises, sunsets, and rainbows; such beautiful signs of God's love, they leave me breathless every time I see them. I love animals if they're the domesticated kind...dogs, cats, and the like. I also enjoy cleaning, whether it's straightening my room, washing dishes, or doing laundry; I'm very organized and like having everything in its place, so putting things in order makes me happy.

- - anything that just makes you frown?

I don't like alcohol one bit, either the taste itself or the effect it has on people. I'm not a big fan of rap music, or anything with inappropriate lyrics. I don't like soda; the way the bubbles tickle my throat is just uncomfortable. I don't like extremes in weather, either hot or cold; when it's cold, it takes longer to warm up in the gym, and I almost freeze, and when it's hot, there's always a risk of overheating. I'm not big on speaking in public; I hate it, actually...I have no problem competing in front of thousands, but tell me to stand up in front of a class of twenty and give a presentation, and I just might go into panic mode. I hate bugs, whether they creep on the ground or fly through the air makes no difference; they make me shudder just to see them. I'm very organized and punctual, and I hate it when anyone isn't. I also don't like it when people complain about the tiniest little things...come on, are your problems really that bad? I hate missing class, or any other activity or event I've agreed to attend. Basically I hate going back on my word, by choice or not, or when other people go back on theirs. I can't stand it when people don't stick to what they believe, when they alter their supposed beliefs or their actions to fit in with other people.

- - now, tell me a bit about you. your personality and such.

As far as my overall personality is concerned, there are three main aspects which encompass most of it: I am a gymnast, I am a Christian, and I am a romantic. Being a gymnast means that I am physically strong, flexible, and graceful. I am also a hard worker, and very persistent about getting things right. But, for the same reasons, I also tend to be a bit of a perfectionist...okay, maybe more than just a bit of one. I can't stand getting things wrong, or not being able to master a skill; there have been times when I was the last one to leave the gym, because I was having trouble with a particular skill and I refused to leave until I got it just right. I'm very determined, but at times that also comes across as stubbornness.

My faith in God is one of the most important aspects of my life. Because of Him, I have confidence; I don't give up easily, and I tend to stay pretty optimistic, because I know He's always there watching over me. His word is what rules my life; if I ever have a problem and don't know what I should do, I can find my answer in the Bible. And I don't need to worry about being lonely, even when I had just moved here and didn't know anyone, because I always have a friend in my Savior. I am extremely passionate about my faith, though I don't preach about it unless someone actually asks me. It's hard sometimes, though, when I see people living in ways which go so completely against His laws. I guess I can be kind of judgemental; I try not to be, because Jesus says we shouldn't, but I know I don't always succeed.

While Christ is my first love, I am also very much a romantic at heart. I've always loved fairy tales, the stories about the knight on the white horse coming to rescue the princess from the tower; I suppose I owe that to my mom for reading them to me and teaching me to read so young so I could read them for myself. I want to find my own Prince Charming someday, and ride off into the sunset with him. That's also the other reason behind my decision to wait for marriage; aside from the religious aspect of it, it just seems so much more romantic that way. But being a romantic also has its downfalls. I tend to be rather naive and idealistic; I want "happily ever after" and have a hard time accepting the possibility that real life might not end up that way.

- - huh, sounds like we should hang out some time. so what are you looking forward to in life?

Right now my goal is to just live every day to its fullest, to live in the moment; but at the same time not to forget what's waiting for me at the end of this life. I want to have a successful career on the Utah gymnastics team, both individually and as a team. I want to live every day knowing that I am a child of God, and I want to share His love with the people in my life. I want to learn what His plans are for me, and follow them all the way. I hope to fall in love someday, and eventually have a family; and I also want a successful career of some sort, though I don't know what that will be yet. But I always want to be doing something related to gymnastics.

- - oh that's neat. so i'm sure there's something that makes you a bit paranoid, right?

My main fear at the moment is injury. Gymnastics is a dangerous sport; and if I get injured badly enough, I can't practice, I can't compete, and I might even lose my place on the team. I'm especially worried about that lately, since my very near miss earlier this year. I'm not afraid of dying, only of being injured or crippled. I'm afraid of never finding love, but at the same time I'm afraid of letting someone else in for fear they'll try the same thing my ex did, or worse. I'm also scared of disappointing my parents, or worse, my God; even though I know they'll always love me no matter what. I'm terrified of stinging insects...bees, wasps, hornets, you name it.

- - are you hiding anything? it won't leave this room, i promise.

Hmm...I'm generally a very open person; there's not that much that I keep hidden. Earlier this year when I almost stopped going to church, I never told my parents; does that count? I still haven't told them about my lapse, I know my dad especially would be so disappointed, even though I'm going again now. I don't tell many people about my ex-boyfriend who was such a jerk, but I don't actually try and conceal it; it just doesn't come up that often (though about half of my senior class saw me slap him across the face, and I'm sure most of them could guess why). Although I also never told my parents about what he tried to do; my dad would have killed him if he ever found out! Another semi-secret is the fact that I'm waiting for marriage; again, I don't go shouting about it, but I don't have a problem telling anyone who asks.

- - wow, that is juicy. so your family, what are they like?

My dad's name is James, though he goes by Jim mostly. He's 47 and has been the pastor at my church all my life. My mom's name is Alicia, and she's 45. She teaches English at my high school, though I managed to avoid being in her class. She and my dad met in college when she was a freshman and he was a junior, started dating, and got married soon after Mom graduated. I have one older brother and two younger sisters who are identical twins. My brother Matt (well, Matthew really, but everyone calls him Matt) is 22 and a senior at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa. I think he wants to follow in Dad's footsteps and be a minister. My twin sisters are sophomores in high school, and are about to turn 16 this summer, to my dad's dismay, although as you can imagine, they're both thrilled about it. Their names are Catherine and Elizabeth; my mom was on a Jane Austen kick when she was pregnant with them. They went by Kitty and Lizzy when they were little, but now that they're all "grown up" and in high school, they prefer Cat and Liz. And like most almost-sixteen-year-olds, they don't have any idea what they want to do with their lives yet, at least as far as I know.

- - i guess that's about it. before you go though, could you tell me a bit about your life thus far?

I was born in Edmond on a cold March night; yeah, I know March is supposed to be spring, but there was a late cold front that year, or so I've been told. My first couple of years weren't anything special; I crawled, I talked, I walked, just like any baby or toddler. My brother Matt tells me I was the first baby he'd ever seen (he was 3 when I was born), and that he hasn't seen a cuter baby since then, but I think he's biased. Isn't that just such an older-brother thing to say?

When I was three, my sisters were born, although to this day I can't remember much about it except waiting at the hospital for hours and asking, when I saw that there were two of them, where my twin was. I was convinced that all babies came in pairs, and for about a month I was desperate to find out what my mom had done with her. But not long after that, I found a sufficient distraction from that question...one which would last me all my life. Because later that year, we went to watch a gymnastics meet at the University of Oklahoma...and from the moment I saw those girls flipping and twisting over the beam and between the bars, I was hooked. I begged Mom and Dad to let me take lessons, and they agreed, registering me at the local gym the following week.

I started competing when I was eight. My first meet was a tiny little thing between my team and a group of girls from a gym across town; but I was terrified. It had been one thing to show off my routines for my coaches and teammates at practice the week before; it was another thing altogether to be expected to do them in front of (what seemed like) hundreds of people, all watching my every move! And the judges! If the crowd itself intimidated me, the judges frightened me nearly out of my skin. Worst of all, when I tried to find my family in the audience, I couldn't see them anywhere. I was starting to panic when I finally saw them, right in front, cheering me on; and since then all my nerves vanished and I was ready to compete. I didn't have a stellar meet, though I only fell once on the beam and sat down one of my tumbling passes on the floor. But more importantly than that, I had discovered a love for competition, a drive to succeed, and the knowledge that I could do anything if I put my mind to it and had my family behind me.

The next significant event in my life happened when I was ten. I had always gone to church; we had gone as a family, since my dad was the preacher there. But until that year, I hadn't really understood it; I just went because that was what we did on Sundays. But one of my friends from school had invited me over to spend the night at her house, and that afternoon when my mom dropped me off, I started crying because I'd never slept away from my family before, and I was scared of being lonely. Mom told me that I would never be alone, because Jesus was always with me. I'd heard the stories about Him in church, of course, and everything He had done; but I'd always thought they were just stories, like the fairy tales my mom used to read me at bedtime. So I asked her if those stories were actually true, and she asked me what I thought. "I think they are," I said, and she said that all I had to do was believe that, and accept Jesus into my heart, and He would always be with me.

After that, the next few years were fairly unremarkable. I became much more active in the church, and continued to compete and improve my skills in gymnastics. I had gotten to the point where I was winning most of the meets I entered, and I knew for certain that I wanted to continue for as long as I could. I had dreamed of the Olympics for years, just like any young gymnast does, and I thought my dreams were about to be realized when, at the age of sixteen, I placed at Regionals and, by doing so, qualified for Nationals! The next Olympics were still two years away, but I thought that if I did reasonably well here, then surely I could continue to improve and perhaps have a shot at the team when the time came.

In the preliminary round, nothing went right. I stepped out of bounds on floor, took giant hops on my landings on both vault and bars, and nearly fell off the beam. No truly fatal mistakes, technically, but to me it was my worst performance since my very first meet, and I was so disappointed in myself. I managed to pull it together for the finals, but still finished a disappointing (to me) 15th place. After that, I decided to continue competing, but to aim at a college career instead of the Olympics. Oh, I would still try and qualify for Nationals the next year, and the next; but my focus would be more on choosing the right college team.

Of course, I doubted it would be a hard decision at all. I had lived in Oklahoma my whole life; my parents had both attended OU and had even met there, and the very first gymnastics meet I had ever seen had been there. I had wanted to be a Sooner as long as I could remember; I already knew the campus like it was my own backyard. Still, I had already begun to receive letters from various universities around the country, and so I thought I should at least look into those, just to make sure that I would be making the right decision. Utah had been the very first school I had received a letter from, and so it was also the first school I visited, the summer in between my sophomore and junior years. A little early, true; but I wanted to start gathering information as quickly as possible so I would have more time to make my final decision.

I fell in love with the University of Utah the moment I arrived on campus...no, more accurately, the moment I stepped into the gym. I felt at home immediately, and I sat and began watching the girls who were currently in the middle of an informal workout session. Afterwards I met all of them, and we clicked immediately; I knew this was a group of people to which I would like to belong. Even better was when I found a church a mere few blocks from campus, and after attending a service there during my weekend visit, knew that it was the right one for me. I wouldn't get an official invitation or scholarship offer until a year later, but I knew this would be my home.

So my junior year passed, including another unsuccessful attempt at Nationals; I failed to even qualify that year, but it was okay, because I had a new goal in sight. Then my senior year came, and that was when I met him. He was a senior too, and had been in a couple of my classes previously, but somehow I hadn't really noticed him before; maybe it was because he hadn't noticed me. Whatever the reason may be, barely a month into the school year we were already dating, and I was falling fast. He was the perfect gentleman - holding doors for me, carrying my books, walking me to class even when it made him late for his own. I was in love and didn't care who knew it. When senior prom came around in the spring, it was a given that we would go together; he even went with me to buy my dress, so he could make sure his tux would match. But that night...it all went wrong.

We'd never discussed religion, or beliefs, or anything like that; it had just never come up, most of my friends knew I was a strong Christian, and I took it for granted that he did too. But that night, after dancing the evening away in each other's arms, when the last song had ended, he hadn't wanted to leave. I hadn't either, because the night had been so magical, but I knew we had to; the dance was over and I had to get home. But as we left the ballroom of the fancy hotel where the prom had been held, instead of heading for the doors, he steered me toward the front desk. I stopped and asked what he was doing, and he said that he wanted to make the night special. When he bent to kiss me, I knew exactly what he had in mind, and I pulled away and firmly refused. He called me a tease and tried to pull me in his arms again, at which point I slapped him across the face and walked away, hearing him cursing behind me but ignoring it. I called a taxi to take me home instead and never spoke to him again.

Four months later, I moved into my dorm room here in SLC. My roommate was a fellow freshman on the gymnastics team; they try and put us together like that to help us fit in more, quickly, and I'm glad to say that it succeeded. Actually, I think it succeeded too well, because within a month or two, virtually every moment I wasn't in class was spent with these girls. I started going to church less and less, until early December when I barely went at all. But I was in the gym one Saturday afternoon, working on a new dismount from the bars...when suddenly my hands slipped, right in the middle of the skill, and I went hurtling toward the mats, head-first.

To this day, neither I nor anyone who was there can tell exactly what happened. One minute, I was about to crash head-first into the mats, and almost certainly bound to break my neck; the next moment, I landed harmlessly on my back instead. In my mind, it was a miracle that I even survived; and that was the reminder I needed to return to church. I went the following morning, it being Sunday; and later that week, I actually turned down dinner with my teammates to go again. Once again I had found the balance I needed between my gymnastics and my faith, and it was something I wouldn't let go of again.

In January, our competition season started. I was a little nervous at my first college meet; not because I was afraid of not doing well personally, but I didn't want to let down my team. But I performed solidly on all three of the events I actually competed - beam, floor, and vault; I didn't do bars because we had a couple of really excellent bars specialists on the team who were also seniors, and their routines were stronger than mine. While I had hoped to compete all-around, I knew it wasn't common for a freshman, and the good of the team always came first. We won that first meet, and most of the subsequent meets as well; and at Regionals we qualified as a team for the NCAA National Championships. So now we're preparing for that competition, and I'm probably more excited about it than I've been for any other meet I've been in.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

hola! it's me, monica. i've been making people smile for twenty-five years, though i only started pulling the puppet strings two years ago. oh, and did i mention i'm a big fan of hayden panetierre? yep, i am. well, that's enough about me. oh, wait, one last thing: SPRINGFIELD!