I look up at the scoreboard, 5..4..3.. I pass the ball, 2.. my teammate shoots. There’s a loud buzz as the board bounces off the backboard and into the net. We won the game! Basketball is a big part of my life, if I’m not practicing, I’m watching another game, or reliving a moment from my own games.

During the hardest part of my life, I started playing basketball. It was first just a way to escape everything I was dealing with, if I was stressed or overwhelmed I would go to my nearest park and shoot around. It became something that I was doing almost every day. Now that I overcome that obstacle, I still love playing basketball, but now it is something I do for enjoyment and not to help me forget the world and everything that I’m dealing with. Occasionally, if I have a lot of homework or a big test, playing basketball helps me deal with the stress.

Basketball is also about being a part of a team. I’ve learned how to get along with everyone and the people on my team have always supported me. They’ve taught me that it’s okay to have a bad day but to hold your head high and not be upset. My coach told me, “It’s okay to miss the shot, but it’s not okay to not try again.” That taught me so much not just about basketball but about life, sometimes you’ll get hit with challenges over and over again and if you don’t get back up, you won’t know what you could’ve done.