My parents continued to push me to strive to be the best and to be competitive during the games. In elementary and middle school, I was going through a completely unrelated crisis with understanding the complexities of the English language (it was so tough switching my primary language from Japanese to English) and I had very little confidence in everything I did. I was timid and caring, not aggressive and competitive, and the pressure weighed down on me so much that I actually didn't want to play anymore.
I always had great potential as a kid but it never really became apparent until I reached high school. Why? Puberty. 
My late-bloomer self outgrew a lot of my teammates on my fierce, highly-Asian-populated club basketball team in 8th grade and I started focusing my efforts into becoming a shooter. I had an amazing coach my first two years of high school (Coach Dion) who really catered to improving my game and taught me the great rewards of perseverance.

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