come to think about it, it’s been…. quite a number of years since i really started playing basketball. since 13?
 
still remember when i was like 5 i had this pink rubber ball which i totally loved bouncing around, and there were this koala and panda bear cartoons on it too. my sister and i were watching a soccer anime on tv then, and she said she wanted to be a soccer player when she grew up. i probably didn’t know what i was talking about but i said i wanted to be a basketball player. it was funny, because i didn’t even know what basketball was about except for the bouncing part of it. my sister laughed at me, saying i was too short to be one. hmmph.
 
guess i didn’t turn out to be too short. somehow my love for bouncing a ball continued to stay with me even though i didn’t get a chance to play the real game when i was in primary and secondary schools. the basketball club closed down when i got into crescent girls’, so i joined track instead. i loved running. i still do. i loved the feeling of being fast. loved it even more when i was faster than anyone else. but nothing came easy when trying to be a faster-than-others runner. had to go through trainings that felt like hell, had to keep myself focused and disciplined. had to keep up with what others expected of me, but more importantly i had to keep up with what i expected of myself. that’s when i realized i didn’t like losing. i accepted defeat and did my best to get better and faster. drew strength from those around who supported me, and strength from God who kept me going and gave me that inner peace i need.
 
sweat. cramps. heat. strained muscles. dirt. torn ligaments… being an athlete taught me a lot. when i started track i started playing basketball on the side as well. my group of girl pals who were looking for the same fun went out there every recess to play hoops. it was so much fun! but somehow i still didn’t like losing, so i gave my best every time i played. i loved the sound of the ball swooshing through the net. i loved it when i jumped high. i loved it when i cut through screens and past defenders. i loved it when i failed and accepted it and then succeed.
 
7 months in JJC almost stopped me from coming out to the states. i joined one of the best basketball teams and i loved my coach and teammates to death. i learned so much about the game of basketball. no more is it about me trying to shoot some hoops alone on the court, but working together with my teammates towards the same goal – winning. i loved it when we tried to win, loved it when we win. i brought my game with me to the states, and i found myself expanding it. i’m a player on the court, i will take anyone and i’m not afraid. i take no crap from other people and i respect good players. and i make sure i have fun :)
 
recently though, i find myself shifting focus from making sure i have fun to trying to win too much. wanting to win is not a bad thing until you are overly obsessed with it. when that happens you’ll forget the simplest pleasure of running and basketball – feeling fast, jumping high, the sound of the net, the warmth of the sun, the cool wind on the back of the shirt… and the real reason to play - to have fun. God has given me this passion to help me live life fully - to help others up when they fall down, to taste joy and tears, to feel His creation under the sky, to understand the pain of sprains and strains, to go through the difficulty of being on crutches, to encourage and understand and go through what other people go through just like how He does the same for me. how can i forget how it all started -  the love of bouncing a rubber ball?
 
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