I found that not a lot of things in life are worth it unless you take risks. My whole life I was told to make sure to have something to count on, something to fall back on. Something to feel safe on. I never understood that concept. Made no sense to me. I thought if i'm going to fall i wanna fall forward. At least this way I'm going to figure out on time what I'm going to hit.
Fall forward, this is what I mean.
-Michael Jordan missed 26 important game winners shots, however people remember the 6 championships he won. Fall forward
-Thomas Edison did 1000 failed experiments to create the light bulb however the 1001 was the working light bulb . Fall forward.
Every time I failed at something I was a step closer to success. This applied for most of the areas in my life.
Freshman year I had no clue what was going on in the classroom. I couldn't understand the teachers. I couldn't read. I was doing horrible in most of my classes, and I was learning new knowledge while learning the language . At some point it felt like my brain was going crazy. I was a 15 year old that had to learn how to become a man at a young age. It was a new world full of new experiences .
On the other side I had no minutes on the basketball court. In my head I was like it's fine. I'm not doing that well in the classroom. I'm going to have a really good time at practice. Doing more surprises to my life I was wrong.. I definitely was disappointed but I was disappointed in myself . I was mad at myself that i wasn't fulfilling what i wanted to fulfill. I felt like I was letting myself and the people that sacrifice a part of them for me down.
But here is the thing, I never quit. I didn't fall back. I didn't rely on the safe wall. I walked out of class at the end of the day to prepare for the next day, and the next week and the next month. Relentless practice on learning words in english. On the other side I walked out of practice to workout, study the plays, learn how to somehow play the game correctly. Some days time just wasn't enough to fulfill all my tasks. I was experiencing a new world of changes not only in basketball but my life. I started to seek for answers, different ways and faster ways to figure out the answers. I guess if you play video games you can call it the “cheat code”.
I prayed, and prayed to god for answers but I kept failing and failing. But it didn't matter because there is an old saying that says ” If you hang around the barbershop long enough, sooner or later you're going to get a haircut”. And I did get a haircut. I learned the language to the point that I can write my own essays by myself without a google translator. I went from 3.7 to a 4.6 GPA. I also played more and more time on the basketball court. I started to get the answers on how to fit in my new reality, my new life. It started to feel like it was home. It started to feel like a part of me.
The point I want to make is that everyone has the power to succeed. If you desire to do something and have enough discipline I think you will get it. The real question is do you have the guts to accept failure? . Are you ready to get up after failing?.
Winning may seem easy but the real winners I learned are defined by how they bounce back from their failures. Failing is not the best however If you don't fail , you're really not trying. It Took me 18 years to realize that sometimes failure is the best way to figure out where you're going. I don't feel like my life has never been a straight line. It also has never been how I imagined a couple years ago. I started dreaming of being a superhero when I was about 10, then I wanted to become an athlete and I did. Now I want to become a successful businessman and I will. Adversity and failure made my life more fun because it motivated me to get up and figure out a solution. I found beauty in the pain. Every time life showed some source of adversity I think it was testing me and preparing me for bigger things.
All the failures during these 4 years of my high school days showed me that taking risks is not just about moving to a new country, learning a new language, or making new friends. It's about being ready for big risks because they come with big opportunities and bigger rewards. It's also about being open minded and open to people, open to new beliefs and new cultures that may come with it.
The answers I used to pray for, came to me and the journey became more fun. Life pushes me around all the time but my attitude to life determines life's attitude towards me so i choose to smile to adversity and instead of making it an enemy i made it my friend.
The last point I want to talk about is thankfulness. I think there is no better moment to thank every person that was part of the process.directly or indirectly. I wouldn't be here without the help of every single one of you. Thank you teachers for always pushing me to not be average. Teaching me the basics and the most complex details.
Thank you coach Kitani for being my biggest mentor these 4 years. Every day at practice I learned something new and how to win the day but more importantly how to win in life. At the end of the day we only have one
Finally thank you RHP community for providing me this amazing opportunity that i can surely say changed my life.
Thank you.
Shout outs:
-Adriana:Thank you for always helping me with everything that I needed. My time at RHP was a lot easier since I got your help. All the little things you did for me are things I won't ever forget.
-Trujillo fam: Thank you Jake And Leslie for taking the challenge of having a person that you don't know at all and treat as your own child. I have felt at home since day 1. It's hard to mention all the little and big things that i would like to thank you specifically but i love you guys and will always be in my heart. Really thankful for people like you in my life. You guys are like parents to me.
-Lee family:Thank you for every time I go to your house to make me feel superl welcomed and thank you for caring and worrying about me throughout this whole time and my allergies. I really appreciate you Mr. and Ms. Lee.
-Mateo,Alex,Boom(hostbrothers): Playing hide and seek and making a mess around the whole house until J.T. getting mad was definitely one of my favorite memories with you guys. I guess I always asked my mom for a brother. Life gave me 3 that I love like we were born 3 lifes ago together .
-JL-BY-DS-BG(Bestfriends): Thank you for being my best friends. Every second we spend I enjoy it . As I always say to you guys, the dinners and the time we spent playing fifa or at David's house were some of my best memories and some of the best moments of my life. Like master Madara says, Nothing ever goes as planned in this world but I'm sure we will be brothers until the end of it. #Redmoonplan.
-Basketball teams from 2019-2023:Thank you for all the love and support on and off the court. I really loved all our crazy practices and all the time shared. Wish the best for every single one of you guyses future. Always remember you can count on me for anything. Being here today was possible because of each of you guys. Love you guys
-Coach Corey and Manasa: Thank you for all the extra time you put on me. All the little conversations, advice, running extra time for me to learn all the things needed. Thank you for all the constant support during these 4 years. I'm sure it would've been a lot harder without you coaches.
-Coach Kitani: Coach I will always remember you as the man that changed my life. You are one of my biggest teachers but not only about basketball but life. Like I told you before, words can't truly describe the thankfulness and love towards you. Thank you coach. I will always remember the daily lessons and crazy but true analogies at practice. With you I learned how to become a man and how to fish but more importantly how to keep seeking for perfection and keep my hunger alive. Thank you coach.
-Aunt and grandma: I think my 2 biggest fans besides my mom. Thank you for always giving me cookies and milk without telling my mom. Thank you for taking care of me while mom was working hard . Thank you for being like a mom during my whole life. Te amo tia te amo Nonita.
-Cousin Daniel: It's crazy that you are here. I always saw you as my big bro when I was younger. I still do. I won't ever forget the fights we used to have and I had to call unc because you made me cry. Thanks for being her cuzzo love you bro.
-Uncle PG(Dad):Thank you for being my father. You always made me feel like I had one. Ever since I got the memory you've been there for me and my mom. Now that I read more books I understand some more about the concepts you used to talk about when I was younger. Love you unc.
-Mom(Mom): Thank you for being my unconditional supporter, thank you for being the best mom in the world. The only thing I can tell you right now is I love you with all my heart and the journey is far from over but stage 1 is almost completed. You are my biggest motivation and the person I love the most in the world. All this time that we couldn't see each other was totally worth it and don't worry about me . I'll take care of you in the future just like you did when I was a kid. Thank you mom.