The speakers blared as the announcer said,” 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Happy New Year, welcome 2012!” Then a series of top hits of 2011 played, right in front of George R. Brown Convention Center. New Year parties such as the one in Houston occured in cities around the world.
Everyone knows by now that 2012 is a leap year, this is also the year of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and for those who can vote or have and interest in politics this is also a year in which the presidential elections will be held.
2012 is a leap year, so what exactly is a leap year? Since it takes the Earth to travel 365 ¼ days to travel around the sun and since it is not possible to have a ¼ day, so every fourth year an extra day is added to keep things the calender and Earth’s revolutions aligned. So an extra day, I could maybe enjoy the day and relax for a moment but then again when ever I plan to take some rest, but then again it’s a Wednesday a school day, I probably might not have time to rest.
The addition of the extra day will give athletes another day to prepare for the 2012 Summer Olympics inLondon. The opening ceremony is on July 27, 2012, and the closing ceremony will be on August 12, 2012. The games will include 26 sports. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics I was impressed with how the rich Chinese culture was incorporated in the opening ceremony, this year we’ll learn more about London. London is a beautiful place and I hope they incorporate the beauty as well as an insight to their history. In 2008 Olympics Michael Phelps dominated and earned eight gold medals, this year we’ll see how many medals Phelps will bring once again. Beside swimming, I can’t wait to see the results of the Gymnastics, Tennis and the Triatholan. In 2008, theUnited States of Americaearned 110 medals and was first place; once again rooting for the American team I hope the outcomes remain the same.
As the games close the debates between candidates heat up, as the GOP primary still decide on a candidate to run against former President Barack Obama. The candidates remaining in the Republican primary are Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul. This year’s election will not be as intense as the elections of 2008, since there was much hype about the first African-American President. This year, on the other hand, will just be a year to make another decision.
This leap year has much to offer, whether is gaining an extra day, or rooting for teams in the Olympics, or watching the presidential debates, it doesn’t seem to be a bad year at all.
