Significant Event I had put on extra deodorant for that long-awaited day. I had made sure the laces on my new “Michael Jordan Pumps” were double knotted. I had also ironed my shirt the night before, making sure my last name, Yung, was visible. “They're all twelve years old,” I thought to myself as I looked at the competition towering over me… and my dad. I was on the verge of losing all faith, I didn't have an answer, my mind only registered the image of gigantic twelve-year-olds running over me in the race for a spot on the city league basketball team. But I didn't have time to doubt myself. . Hadn't I exercised every day after school until my body was begging me to stop? Even after my mother's ineffective attempts to convince me to have dinner, I still couldn't go in; I had to get my layup right. Every day, with nothing but the chorus of crickets and mosquitoes to keep me company, I did the same drills to improve my basketball skills, the same drills to develop my strength, and I held on to the same dream that drove me to seek perfection . The buzzer sounded. and the rehearsals began. The coaches put us through one drill after another. “YES, I took that shot and that other shot!” The practice is paying off! They shouted their demands, but their voices lost their ferocious intensity as my brain fogged with exhaustion. “Stop,” the coaches shouted in unison, signaling the end of the City League basketball tryouts. I watched with teary eyes as the time passed and I still hadn't been chosen for any of the ten teams....