I got cut from 8th Grade Basketball Tryouts (something similar to Michael Jordan’s story).

It has been a long time since I didn’t make the 8th grade basketball team. Did they cut me because I was Asian? Were they racist?! Nope. I was just really chubby and had poor hand eye-coordination. I can’t remember my tryout stats, but I can recall I ran close to a 11-minute mile, made 2/10 free throws, and made 1/4 layup attempts.

LOOK AT ME NOW COACH! That day made me stronger. Not only did I lead my team to the loser bracket championship in the lower division at Texas A&M basketball intramurals, but I managed to finish that game with 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Well, we did lose by a lot.

I still love the game of basketball even though I’m still terrible. If people asked what I like to do for fun, pickup basketball would be on my list. In gym full of short Asian people, I could confidently say I’m not the absolute worst. I probably shoot 20% from the 3-point line on a good day. I can make open layups for the most part. I can usually pass to the open man.

So yeah, you can say I’m a success story. For those of you that didn’t make it, don’t ever give up on your dreams. Anything is possible. Basketball never stops.