Basketball: Fun, Friends, & Memories  

Jessy Dablow

          As my childhood memento I chose a basketball.  I remember the first time I made a basket. I was in the 3^rd grade, for the first time I was allowed to play basketball with my brothers and dad. I shot the ball and it went in! I shot it again and it went in again! After a few made baskets I started to really like to play and I was good. I begged my parents to sign me up to play on a team somewhere, because I wasn’t old enough to play at school yet.  I was crushed when, with just a few short weeks until I started to play at the YMCA, I broke my arm.  I had to wait until the next year, so I could play for my school as a 4^th grader.

            From that point in my life, basketball was a major factor in my life.  I spent the majority of my summer vacation each year in a gym.  I wanted to play as much as I could. I stayed out of trouble because of basketball. I loved playing so much that I wasn’t going to risk doing anything that would take it away from me.

 Not playing in college was one of the hardest decisions of my life; it was hard to give something up that had been so important to me. 

Even though I don’t play as much anymore, basketball continues to be a part of my life.  One of the first dates I went on with my boyfriend, we played basketball.  I owe a lot to the game of basketball; some of my most cherished memories from my life are because of basketball. 

Last updated: 05 March 2007
URL: http://homepages.ius.edu/dablowj/
Send comments to: dablowj@ius.edu