Personal Narrative: AAU Basketball

This picture shows more than just me and my grandpa at the East Noble High School after I received the honors of being on the all NHC Second Team for basketball after my sophomore season. It tells a story behind a very strong man with his grandson. My grandfather, Michael S. Nichols, was more than just a grandfather; he was a friend and an amazing role model. I remember walking off of that stage and walking out of the auditorium and looking at him; he was sobbing. I looked at him and asked him why he was crying, He told me he was so proud of me and wished he would’ve taken care of himself better so he’d be healthier. He loved watching me play ball. He loved it so much he even paid for me to play AAU basketball when my parents couldn’t afford it. AAU basketball is very competitive and is highly scouted. He told us that it would benefit me most to get me in AAU as soon as possible, so in the eighth grade he got me on a team coming out of Fort Wayne and paid the full six hundred and forty five dollars for me to play. He wanted to ensure …show more content…
We sit in different spots and not a word is spoken. It’s just as different as basketball. When he was alive, he made it fun. Yeah, he’d rip my butt, but that was for the better of me. He geared me to want to achieve my goals, now he’s dead and it feels like all the motivation to achieve those goals has gone down. My goals when he was alive was to go Division 1 and be able to play on the big stage, now I don’t even know if I want to play basketball at the next level. I just want to follow my dreams and make money when I’m older and be the happiest I can be. It’s hard to put basketball down because he loved it so much but I think I just get tired of it easily. It was my life in elementary and middle school and my first couple years of high school, up until he passed away. I just want to do it for fun with my buddies or for recreational