My Growth

Faris Alam
Nov 5 · 7 min read

The journey is never ending.
There’s always gonna be growth, improvement, adversity;
you just gotta take it all in and do what’s right,
continue to grow,
continue to live in the moment.
— Antonio Brown

Life to death is a journey. Our first day to our last is a journey. Childhood to adulthood is a journey. In our life, we partake in many journeys, some massive and some small. Every day from the morning to the night, everything we do is a journey, but something we don’t realize is that these journeys are what is shaping up. These daily journeys we unknowingly partake in is what causes the growth in us. This growth is what causes us to rise from a brainless little baby into who we are or what we are going to become.

Time, pain, and love are some of the few words that have an impact on almost everyone’s life. While these words don’t have that big of an impact, the significance and what the represent are a few of the most significant effects we have on our life. Growth is the most notable of them all; drawing into pain, love, and more, it is what makes us different and unique. It is a stepping stone we need to overcome, a mountain we need to climb, and it is our first and last journey, and upon completing these, we come out better than ever. So, this is the growth that I have achieved this year. Three books I have taken in and used to help me grow this year.


The Hate U Give By Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give, written by Angie Thomas, is by far one of the most influential books I have ever read in my life. Suggested to me by an ex-classmate, T.H.U.G (The Hate U Give) was the first book I kicked off my wider reading task with. The book talks about injustice against race and how a brave girl rises to challenge this injustice, how this girl (Starr) deals with her cousin’s (Khalil) death, and a racist police system, how this girl speaks out against racism and how this girl grows up. This book made me think about the injustice that still goes on in our world, the Hong Kong Riots, the North Korea issues, the wars in the middle east. All of these injustices could be stopped with empathy. It made me realize that racism is still an issue. This book made me understand the importance of speaking up, of family, of community, and, most of all, overcoming our fears.

I believe Starr’s growth in T.H.U.G influenced me. I started to speak up about what I was passionate about, whether it was about basketball, about my schooling, or the environment. I believe myself to be more confident, more outgoing because of this newfound ability to speak up. It made me realize that I witnessed racism and injustice and was not doing anything to combat it. I feel like Starr, and I aren’t so different; she is a teenager just like me; she goes through arguments with her family and community just like me. Seeing her coming together with them made me realize the significance of my family and community and made me appreciate how lucky I am. The emotions and journey I went through reading this book motivated me to read more books.


Salt in His Shoes By Deloris and Roslyn Jordan

After reading quite a controversial and challenging book, I decided to read something more comfortable. I had decided to take a journey down memory lane and read a book my mother had read to me when I had first started to play basketball. Salt in his shoes written by Deloris Jordan and Roslyn Jordan. Salt in his shoes is about Michael Jordan as a child who almost quit basketball as he believed he wasn’t tall enough. After losing a game, he asks his mum how he can grow taller, and she tells him to put salt in his shoes, to say a prayer, and to be patient. After a few months, he measured himself and wasn’t taller, and he became disappointed. His father talked to him and told him that while being taller might make him play a little better but determination, practice, and will in what makes a player win. Michael runs to his game, and when it matters, most scores the basket and wins the game. From then, he knows that he doesn’t have to be tall to be good at basketball.

This book was very relatable a few years ago as much as it is now. When I started basketball, I was only 11, and I was playing in the under 14’s. Surprisingly I wasn’t the shortest kid; however, I was definitely the least skilled. I told myself I wanted to be better. I had the determination, will, and patience. I put in the practice, and soon enough, not one year later, I was selected to play rep. I was in under 16’s at the time. From going from the tallest to about average height was at first hard, but it meant I just had to work harder. That was almost a year ago. Now in under 18’s, I am the shortest player on the team, which not only makes me wish I was a bit taller but also tells me I need to work harder. Personally, I feel like the first time I heard this book, all of the talk of determination, patience, and will power fused into my attitude. While I feel like this determination, patience, and will don’t translate into everything I do but when they do, I believe I can get my best work done.


The Crossover By Kwame Alexander

My final book is The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. While it is another book about basketball, it is also about so much more. The Crossover is about two twins (Josh and JB) who are stars on their basketball team. They are both going through puberty dealing with girls and other stuff. Along with all of that, their dad is sick, and their relationship with each other is drifting. After their father dies, they learn the many lessons he was trying to teach them and become closer than ever before.

Another extremely relatable book for me. Not just because basketball is in the book but also because of what Josh and JB go through. Kwame Alexander uses basketball as an allegory to the game of life. He does this through the dad saying that lessons learned in basketball, such as sometimes everyone loses or wins, also translate to real life. I also feel this way using things I learn in basketball in real life, and while they may not be significant lessons, I believe they make me a better person. Also, in The Crossover, there are themes of family and learning your identity. These themes really resonated with me. It made me realize the significance of my family but also the importance of myself, of what I have been able to achieve and what I am going to pursue. The words by the dad “Hustle dig, grind push, run fast, change pivot, chase pull, aim shoot, work smart, live smarter, play hard, practice harder,” really affected me, making me more determined in whatever I’m doing. “…I knew one day I’d need my own wings to fly.” Josh says this explaining why he has dreads, but this is also significant to me; when I first came into Melbourne High, I was just trying to fit in, but now I understand I need my own personality and my own identity.

Melbourne High School

This year was a pivotal year for me. Some of it was good, and some of it was bad. Coming into a new school, a school where everyone was smart, where everyone knew what they are doing and what they wanted to do was a challenge. To say I was afraid and unsure of whether I could cope up would be an understatement. Having failed classes last year, I came into Melbourne High with a new attitude, to try my best and give everything 100 percent, and while I didn’t achieve that thoroughly, I did learn something else instead. I learned to speak up, to use my voice, whether it be for a project or an environment strike. I learned to be brave while exploring this new unknown. I learned to be emphatic, to understand that not everyone is as lucky as I am. I learned to appreciate my family and my community for the support they have provided me. I learned to be patient and determined. I learned to practice my skills and have enough will power to believe in myself. I learned to use everything I learn in every aspect of life. I learned to have my own identity. I learned how to grow. Now I ask you, how have you grown?

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