As most kids grow up; they tend to acquire certain simple materials which they treasure for the rest of their lives. As for me, I never possessed any materials I would consider to treasure until the day my mother returned from her trip to the United States and brought me back a basketball jersey of Michael Jordan from the Chicago Bull team as a souvenir. At the time, I was living in Cameroon, Africa where I was originally born and raised; jerseys like that could not be found or seen anywhere because of their value. It was 1999 when I got that jersey and it was when the Chicago Bulls were at the top of their game and was the best and favored team in basketball. The red, black and white jersey was very popular and was worn all over the world. That jersey marked the beginning of a new lifestyle for me.
My dad had worked for the United State’s Embassy for twenty years; his retirement benefits were tickets and papers to come to the United States and start a new life with his family. So three months after his retirement, our whole family was in a plane, heading to the United States. It was a cold and foggy night upon my arrival in Atlanta, Georgia. I was walking along with my dad and my head is spinning and staring at everything moving like a new born baby, gazing at all the new faces and things. As my dad opened the door for us to get in the car, I felt a swift cold wind mixed up with little snowflakes hit me in the face, without hesitation, I quickly buried my head in the hood of puffy coat. I slept deeply during the ride to our new home. Upon our arrival in our new house, I was on the lookout for a basketball court. I spotted one, it was three to four miles away, but biking made it two miles away. The ride to the court was a warm-up until I got to the court to start playing. Even though it is a team sport, playing or practicing alone brought joy and happiness to my life as I would play.
I remember my first jersey as if I wore it yesterday. I was twelve years old and heading to the seventh grade. It was a Michael Jordan jersey original replica of the 1996 basketball championship. It was a classic jersey of black and red colors. It was silky with tiny little spotted holes. The jersey fitted me perfectly at the time I got it. I grew up playing soccer only and basketball was one of those sports I instantly fell in love with at first try. Despite the fact that I had very little knowledge or skills in basketball, I felt like I was determined to learn and understand the game no matter what it took. I realized this ever since the day I got that Jordan jersey. The first day I wore that jersey, basketball was to become one of my favorite sports to watch and play.
Until the jersey, the only sport I was aware of was soccer; mainly because the Cameroonian soccer team was one of the best team in Africa. I also grew up in a family that only knew how to play soccer; therefore the game of soccer was in my genes, hypothetically. I picked up the game and played it well by watching my brothers and the neighborhood kids’ play. The game of basketball was never played because no one had a ball or a basketball net. In matter of days; I started watching basketball games on television and wondered how I could come up with my own court. I knew it would take me a while to figure out the game but I had no intention of quitting. I started looking for old buckets and making holes on the bottom to make them out of baskets. Next, I had to figure how to hang the bucket up high for it to look like a basketball net. In a matter of two years, my life had changed.
As my lifestyle changed because my family and I moved to the United States, access to a real basketball court was two blocks away from my new house. My jersey, of course had made the trip as well. It was well packed and tucked in my backpack. The basketball court was where I was to be found because my love for the game had grown to another level literally. On a daily basis, I would be at the court two to three times a day for approximately two to four hours always in the right gear: shorts and tennis and my Jordan’s jersey. Rain or shine, one could always spot me at a basketball court. Another reason why I was at the court everyday was because I had met new people and developed new friendships. As for soccer, I never played it again but it remained in my genes. I had become an athlete with passion, who was determined to excel at every athletic event such as basketball, soccer, football and even baseball.
As time went by, the Jordan jersey grew old on me and had been worn-out. The jersey was washed-out, colors were faded out and letters had come off. At this point; I started to realize the changes basketball had made in me both physically and emotionally. Playing basketball on a daily basis had made me into a very active person. For somehow, wherever I went, I always had a basketball in my hands with which I would dribble and bounce to go places I had to walk. I was never the running type of guy, but basketball gave me agility, especially on the basketball court. I would run up and down with quickness and not even have a sense of fatigue. I quickly adopted the nickname “Quicky” since I always surprised my opponents during a game. Today, wherever I am heading I seem to have a tendency of walking quickly, if not, sprinting was an alternative. The jersey had some emotional effect upon me as well. Nowadays, whenever I am feeling down, angry about something or mad at somebody or stressed over a situation, the basketball court was the place for me to settle down and find peace. As I would play, every little issues or drama I had in my head would just fade away. I would have no negative thoughts or feel any turmoil. I would feel like a new-born baby, not having a care in the world or no feelings but happy to be in this world.
Today, despite the fact that my jersey is not with me anymore, I still love to play basketball because it has become a part of me; not just basketball, but just love to be active and be ready to run. On some days, I wonder where the jersey went and I ponder. I haven’t seen another jersey similar to that one but have seen one that looks the same but could get it because it was not like mine. That particular jersey had brought new meanings to my life. It had helped me make new friends, learn a new game, kept me in shape and emotionally helped me when I was stressed out. Finding another jersey like the old one was merely impossible due to financial issues, but I learned that whatever one possesses or truly cherish as treasure, it will go away or disappear one day; and there is nothing to do about it because that is just the just way it is. Things come and go like human beings, one cannot just replace them like broken objects.
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