MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — An old saying warns you to "never meet your heroes" because how you envision them might not correlate with reality.
But for me, that didn't apply to Hoda Kotb at the U.S. Olympic Team Gymnastics Trials last weekend.
The warm, big smile and bubbly personality that greets America in the morning on NBC's TODAY Show is exactly what you will experience in person.
The NBC veteran journalist has earned the right to parachute into a city to cover an event, keep to herself and only focus on her assignment. In fact, we see many other network journalists do it. But that's not Hoda. When asked if she would be available for a sit-down interview with me, her team happily agreed to find time in her packed schedule.
As I made way to our interview, I bumped into her in the hallway. I introduced myself and told her how I couldn't believe I was seeing her in real life.
"It's so nice to meet you!" Hoda said as she hugged me.
She asked me about my career; where I was from, and told me about a time in her life when she once applied to a job in Minneapolis and didn't get it. (I wonder how that hiring manager feels now!) She concluded our quick conversation in the elevator by complimenting the legacy and work of KARE 11.
Once we walked into the suite where we were shooting the interview, she exclaimed, "I can't believe we have a three-camera shoot. Who are you people?! What is this? Dateline!" Of course, it brought a big, prideful smile to our photographer's face.
Once the interview began, my first question was about Paris. She explained her excitement and how she's ready for a "redo" of Tokyo.
"Toyko was such a weird Olympics. It was unusual. It was masked. No family was there. It was just such a different Olympics, and I am so anxious for this to come back, and especially for these gymnasts," Hoda said.
She began covering the Olympics onsite in Torino in 2006. She joked, "I think Roker has covered more!"
But when you have a passion for gymnastics like Hoda, covering the Olympics is an easy assignment to commit to.
"I just hugged Simone, Suni and Jordan. I feel like I have known them since forever," Hoda said. "Simone was 19 when she won the gold in Rio and she's 27 now. I feel like I have watched them grow up and mature and there is something special about them still being together right here right now."
"When was the last time you actually got to be an eyewitness to someone’s life changing? It’s like one minute, 'Who is that person?!' The next minute they are a household name. You get to watch it in real-time. The country comes together, these kids' lives are changed. It’s celebration city." Hoda said.
For media covering the Olympics, it's comparable to running a marathon every day for nearly a month. It's a feat that journalists are lucky to cover once in their lifetime, but it comes with time changes, a rigorous schedule with events and interviews, live shots — and little sleep. Also, you're away from your family and friends for a month.
I asked Hoda, as a mom of two young girls: How does she balance her career and motherhood?
"I think 'be here now' works for me, and I try to teach my kids that, too. When I am at work, I am 100 at work. When I step in the door, I am a 100 at home," Hoda said, admitting that balance still feels tricky to her.
"I don’t ever say to them, 'Oh, I'm so sorry mommy has to go to work.' I say, ' Mommy loves work!' Because I do and I want them to love something."
Journalists get a front-row seat to the tragedies and triumphs of humanity. With that, mental health oftentimes is impacted, so I asked Hoda how she maintains her mental health.
"I think every single thing you put in your brain and your spirit become part of you. News to me is kind of that way, too. If you ingest morning, noon and night, it’s too much to carry. So, I am very careful about what I allow in. During my work hours, I let it all in because I want to know everything. When that time is done when I am at home, I am not constantly checking because my being can’t take it."
Hoda climbed her way to the top of the industry with humble beginnings a small market in Greenville, Mississippi. From there, she went to work in smaller markets in Illinois and Florida before getting an anchor job in New Orleans. She began working at Dateline in 1998.
Hoda has numerous accolades from her work as a broadcast journalist, including one of the highest honors: a 2006 Peabody Award earned while working for Dateline. She also has a podcast and has written several publications. Her memoir, "Ten Years Later," is a New York Times Bestseller.
After more than 25 years of experience at NBC, I asked Hoda what she would tell her younger self:
"I think I would say blessings come when it's their time. Don't worry. Everyone's blessings come when they are supposed to come, and all of mine came after 50. I think I would have reminded her that work is important, but life is more so. And enjoy all of it. Be happy; you're a fighter."
A Swiftie like me, Hoda is known for wearing friendship bracelets made popular again by Taylor Swift's Era's Tour. In honor of this year's games, I made her several Olympic-themed bracelets.
"Are you serious?!" she said before giving me another hug.
I encourage you to go meet your heroes. Sometimes they're better than you can imagine.
Want more Hoda? You can watch her Monday-Friday after KARE 11 Sunrise.
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