Book 1 Post 2

     The book that I selected to read is America Like Me, by America Ferrera. So far, I am loving this book. I am not someone who typically enjoys to read, but this book has a chokehold on me at the moment. I love how every chapter is a completely new story, as there is not a main plot to follow as the book goes on. As a result, I have been jumping around chapters based on people I am already familiar with. Currently, my favorite chapter so far is the one about Jeremy Lin. Growing up, he was a huge inspiration to me as I was a young asian kid playing basketball. Thus, this blog post is dedicated to the chapter about him.

    Jeremy Lin's story was very interesting as he had to overcome so much adversity and racism just to achieve his dreams. As Lin grew up, he was different than anyone else he played basketball with, which placed a chip on his shoulder. Through his childhood story he wanted to remind the audience to chase their dreams no matter what people say. Lin discussed how he was perceived as a bad basketball player anytime he step foot on the court due to his ethnicity. Everyone saw a skinny asian kid, and did not think much of him or respect him. Not even his coaches would respect him at first, but after putting in the work, he would impress them all. Eventually the coaches would have Lin's back. They would teach him to stop worrying about everyone else, so he could focus on his game more.

    As Jeremy started to become better in high school, the opposing fans would be constantly chirping racist remarks at him. However, Jeremy started to mature physically and mentally, which lead him to play college basketball at Harvard. After his college basketball career, Jeremy would eventually make his way to the NBA. He was not drafted as no teams saw a guaranteed chance with him, but this motivated Jeremy to work even harder. Eventually, he was picked up by the Golden State Warriors. He did not receive much playing time or a chance to prove himself, and eventually would be cut from the team. The next year he was signed to the New York Knicks. Jeremy saw this as his last chance in the league. When he finally got his chance to play, he was on fire and was unstoppable by any defender. Here, he would become known as "Linsanity", and showed everyone that he belonged in the NBA.

"You still belong as long as you think you do." - Jeremy Lin