American Like Me: Post 1

American Like Me Blog 1

After reading blog posts from classmates, I decided to read American Like Me, hoping to be able to relate and connect to the book like they had. Fortunately, I was able to find a one that really left an impression with me, and this story had strikingly similar descriptions to my own experiences growing up. 

This was Jeremy Lin’s story. I was so excited to see that he was part of this book because he was my childhood hero. To me, Jeremy Lin was more than just a basketball player; he was evidence that Asians can also play in the NBA without having to be seven feet tall like Yao Ming. More importantly, he was a living example of someone succeeding despite being a minority in his profession and overcoming so much adversity along the way. 

Unlike his parents, mine were not very supportive of my dreams of becoming a professional basketball player. In hindsight, I'm glad they stopped me because I would have gotten destroyed by my friends who continued growing while my growth spurt decided to take an abrupt stop when I hit 6 feet. Despite this however, I really felt a connection with Jeremy's story because it reminds me of mine in so many ways (other than the fact that he ended up winning a championship in the NBA and I didn't). As a boy, he learned by watching Jordan while I learned by watching Kobe. He drank milk and hung off the side of his bed to grow taller, just as I did in the exact manner. He experienced racism from the stands during games, just as I’ve been called racial slurs by kids in the grade above. 

Of course, I already know Jeremy’s story by heart, but reading it today gave me the same inspiration I felt 9 years ago during Linsanity all over again. In fact, I’m probably going to play some basketball right now. If you don’t see me in class a few weeks from now, turn ESPN on and maybe you’ll see me playing professional ball next to Jeremy Lin.