The earliest I can remember being obsessed with the Olympics was in the summer of 1996, when the Games were held in Atlanta, Georgia. I am not an athlete, but watching these professionals go for the gold was amazing (with my personal favorite being the US women’s gymnastics team of that year). Since then, I’ve looked forward to every Olympic Games, even the Winter Olympics which isn’t as exciting as summer for me personally, but I still like to tune in.

This year, though, the Winter Games are being held in Sochi, and if you didn’t know by now, there’s a lot of political tension surrounding the Games being in Russia. This is mainly due to Russia’s controversial anti-gay propaganda law. There’s a lot that can be said about this topic, but long story short, it’s pretty scary and messed up. Today, I came across a short film which showcases some of the violence LGBT people in Russia go through. It’s heartbreaking, to say the least, and definitely not easy to watch.

With this, along with excitement for the Games I’m also feeling nervous and scared, just because there’s so much that can be said about how these Games play out. Many people are speculating that protests against the anti-gay laws will take place, since so many eyes will be on Russia for the Olympics. Some even think that the Olympians themselves will find some ways to protest, showing their support for the LGBT community on a global scale. Although the German Olympic team denies that their rainbow team uniforms are not a form of silent protest, it still gets people thinking.

So I’m looking forward to these Olympic Games with mixed emotions, and I hope everything turns out for the better.