As the whistling of a bullet was piercing the night air of a foreign country, scaring a little boy; as men and women lifted their voices in protest of a police shooting of a 19-year-old girl; and, probably, while a father wondered how his family would get their next meal, I talked on the phone with mixed emotions.I sat, emotionally torn, between the badness of the world and the goodness of a local girl’s success story.In her testimony, buried deep in a shroud of humility I saw hope. I saw hope for our world and for ourselves.She wore flannel-lined, blue-jeans, a gray t-shirt with Curious George plastered on the front. She had her hair pulled back and tied with a hair band when we talked. Her apartment was filled with the succulent smell of marinated chicken and bow tie pasta she and her roommate were cooking.What makes her story so remarkable is not just what she has done, but how many times she has done it.Her name is Susan Eckman (Susie to her friends).Susie is a gymnast here at Ohio State. She has red hair, hazel eyes and is 20 years old. Her major is biology, her minor is zoology and her face is highlighted by little freckles. But to top it all off, she’s a perfect 10…at least that’s what the judges think.And although she has been competing in gymnastics since the ripe old age of eight, her heyday did not befall her until her history making arrival here at OSU.Susie has done what no other OSU athlete has ever done. In competition, she scored a perfect 10. But, not once, not twice, seven times. “It’s better to be lucky than good,” she told me. But, I’m sure it was more than luck that helped etch her into athletic history. “I’m the kind of gymnast that has to be in the gym 5 days a week to maintain my physical fitness and body awareness,” she said. But, humbly she shares her success with others. One person is the team’s nutritionist who shows them “new ways of cooking, like what to eat and the different varieties of foods.” And it has been this kind of help that has aided her in avoiding some of the pitfalls of being a female athlete.Recently, however, on NBC’s “Dateline” a woman was featured whose daughter was not so lucky. Her daughter died partly because of an eating disorder. Although her daughter was a ballet dancer, eating disorders are prevalent in women from various other sports, including gymnastics.When I asked Susie about her struggles with anything similar, she said, “every gymnast goes through an image thing because we’re expected to look like Shannon Miller.” Thankfully, she said, “I’ve never really felt a lot of pressure about eating disorders.”In addition, she said she conceded that she could not have been so successful without the help of a close circle of friends and people who love her. She shares her success and attributes it not only to her hard work and dedication, but to the support of her teammates, her parents and even her boyfriend, Fred.”(Fred has) always been a strong supporter win or lose, first place or last place,” she said. “He fixed the team meals, acts as a counselor,” a breakup expert and occasionally, the team masseuse (ahem, ahem).The 1999 gymnastics season opens this weekend and Susie feels very confident, she’s looking forward to the deafening roar of a crowd in a sold out coliseum…oh, and, she is happy. I feel lucky to have met Susie. Although she’s only 5 feet 1 inches tall, she is strong in mind, body and spirit.I still talk to Susie every now and then on the phone. And sometimes around campus I get to see her, red hair and all. And one thing has not changed since the first time we met.Every time I see Susie I can’t help but be reminded that in spite of this chaotic world, full of lies, war, famine and injustice, there are still things that are worth living for; sometimes very little things whose meaning and worth are far too big for any combination of words to express.

Michael A. Norman is a senior public relations major from Cincinnati.