Basketball

I used to play basketball

I loved the fast pace and the swish of the ball into the hoop

I loved the struggle of skills and the intense competition

I spent all my time playing

I played in elementary, middle, and high school

I even played in college

I devoted 19 years of my life to the game

I went through countless games

I went through practices, conditionings, weight-liftings

I worked hard

I pushed myself and my body until I wasn’t sure if I could push anymore

I pushed until my body ached, my chest hurt, I couldn’t breathe, but I kept going

I got tired last season

I decided that it was tedious, time-consuming

I lost all passion for playing anything other than a pickup game

I felt like the season dragged on

I began to play for scholarship, to get through each practice and game

I decided that I needed to make a change

I told my parents that I was done

I didn’t want to play anymore

I wasn’t going to play next season, just be a regular student

I wasn’t surprised when they were disappointed

I wasn’t surprised when my father refused to talk to me

I stuck with my choice

I realized that this was the first time I had made my own “big” decision

I had directly made a choice that would affect my life

I had finally made a well-thought adult decision

I had become an adult