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Ren Jie: Cheering for Olympics with my sports commentary

Even if i can't serve the olympics as a volunteer, i still dream of the Beijing olympics

My name is Ren Jie. I'm 16 years old and I'm a student at the No. 11 Middle School in Quanyang, Shanxi Province. Becoming an Olympic volunteer was something I had wanted to do for a long time, but since the minimum age requirement for Olympic volunteers is 18, I had to let go of that dream.

But being an Olympic volunteer is not the only way to contribute to the Olympic Games. As an avid sports fan, I've closely followed various sports and competitions since I started middle school. Moreover, I've written pages upon pages of commentary on these competitions over the past few years. Now I have compiled my sports commentaries into a book, which I have donated to the Beijing Olympic Games to show my support.

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games is a great event for all Chinese people. Although my efforts cannot compare to the contributions that older generations have made to the development of China's sports industry, I can still do something as a teenager for the Olympic Games. Starting middle school was somewhat of a turning point for me. It was then that I fell in love with sports. Watching Chinese athletes win made me excited and happy and seeing them lose made me sad. I wrote about all my feelings after watching each match, from F1, football and basketball to gymnastics. Over time, I began to write sports commentaries to record every classic moment.

I tried my best to become an Olympic volunteer. Even though people around me thought it was a hopeless dream, I never gave up. I wrote to BOCOG over and over because I wanted my dream to come true. I can still clearly remember the day that my elder brother found out that he had been selected as an Olympic volunteer -- December 19, 2007. I was so jealous and felt hopeless at the time. My dream was coming true for my brother!

I began to think and asked myself what I could do for the Olympic Games. And that's when the idea to compile my sports commentaries into a book came to me. My book describes what the Beijing Olympic Games mean from the point of view of a teenager who follows Chinese sports with his heart. I wanted to offer my book to the Beijing Olympic Games and leave behind a memory for the Games and for myself.

I spent my free time translating more than ten French or English works into Chinese, and wrote a book on China's football evolution for the Beijing Olympic Games.

For China, the year 2008 is not an ordinary one. For me, it has also been an extremely busy year. Recently, I took the high school entrance exam and now I have more time to follow sports and the Beijing Olympic Games. My book, which I call "Dreaming -- 2008," is not an end, but a start. I will continue to write commentary on the Beijing Olympic Games in the year 2008 and will also pay close attention to Chinese Gymnastics, Liu Xiang, Chinese Badminton, Yao Yi, Chinese Table Tennis. I will continue to write and quietly experience the joy that an athlete feels….