I wasn’t in the mood for this post. I had a long day of college. See right now, I kind of am living a double life. Without all the gross things that happen in a typical double life you would see on MTV. Before I keep going let me make this a point. I am not complaining. I am incredibly blessed in the world, I am blessed with my parents, I’m blessed for my opportunity in school, and lastly I am blessed to have this opportunity. I am writing on a platform that shows my writings to an audience that I would have never reached before. I think that is cool, and I have some people to thank for that. I also am nowhere near where I would like to be. See this patience thing is hard, whether it is me being patient in my writing or the Pistons being patient to get some victories.
See, I still don’t 100% understand how I am here. I quit writing in November and thought I was officially done. I didn’t see a future, so I was ready to just accept my Accounting degree and work in an office for the rest of my life. I honestly still may end up there, I mean I am in no way at a level of a writer to make this my full career. Do I have the talent to? I honestly couldn’t tell you. The only way I can currently describe where I am, is by saying I am in limbo. I woke up this morning and took a test. I went to my next class that was Business Communications. I put a lot of myself into that part of school. I went to a couple group meetings, and just stared at Twitter hoping a basketball writer would tweet to me. I am now putting my all into this writing, and I don’t feel like that same guy taking an exam this morning.
Also today, the Pistons just lost a game they really should of had. I make grammar mistakes I should never make. In a way, I can identify with this Pistons team. They are talented, and they know how to play or else they wouldn’t be in the NBA. I know a decent amount of the game, and I can sort of write on it or else I wouldn’t have gotten this spot. Do I wish Drummond could play 36 minutes and be 1st Team All-NBA at Center? Of course. I envision those days every time he’s on the court. Do I wish I was higher up on the basketball totem pole and I could leave this life I am living? Easily. I wouldn’t have returned to writing had that never crossed my mind. It doesn’t work like that though. You have to scratch and claw through some of life’s difficulties. There is one thing we all share about the human element, and that we share is the fact we all struggle. We all have ups and downs, success and failures, and times where we feel too busy. If not, you are more than likely not pushing yourself to your full potential.
People always say they don’t have time, and sometimes it is definitely true, but other times it is the biggest human excuse. I could be sleeping right now. I have a group project to work on in the morning. I sometimes could go out with my friends to the bars, but I choose to stay in and study the game I love. Does that make me better than anyone? No. I could very easily believe I will never obtain my goals and stop writing again. I don’t want that by any means, but I would be in denial if I didn’t think it could happen. Do I make these sacrifices because I think it will make me a better write? I would hope so. I write posts everyday hoping you enjoy reading them as much as I like writing them. I want this, and I want to work at it. This week, Life on Dumars saw the most page visits in a 7 day span. Seeing how that would also be my first 7 days, I think that is awesome. I am in no way satisfied, however, and I am hoping that is just the tip of an incredibly deep iceberg
The Pistons are in a similar situation. We know they aren’t winning the title this season, and in their hearts I bet they don’t think they are winning the championship either. Does that mean I think they go out and not give their best effort every game? That would never cross my mind. Have they gotten better than that 0-8 start? Obviously. I also believe every guy on the roster is trying to get better. Patience is a virtue, and in this world we all lack patience too much. I would easily believe Drummond has a numbered list on his locker of the things he has to learn to do better on the floor. I believe that he watches game tape and sees the missed defensive rotations we see. I would put money that he is shooting free throws when one of you is reading this. These guys aren’t basketball robots. We forget that all too often. The number one thing people say when a player doesn’t make a free throw is they aren’t practicing them. I personally think free throws at that level can be a mentally daunting task. Drummond has a hitch in his free throw, and I would guess he is working on that hitch instead of sitting on the couch. It is a process that takes time, and in a world where information moves faster and faster, we lose grip of this fact. A championship team can’t be built in 30 minutes, as much as NBA 2K13 would like us to think. No rookie wins the MVP in their first year. Just like how no writer just walks in to a company and throws out the greatest piece of work ever. The world doesn’t work that way, and quite frankly I am so happy it doesn’t.