Cameron Nixon "Just Enjoy The Moment Unapologetically"

My name is Cameron Nixon and I like to play basketball. My teammates and I have won various

basketball tournaments every year. This was great for us and it felt easy for those first few years.

However, the last year we competed was difficult because we went against an opposing team

who matched us in every aspect that made our team strong.This easily became a defining

moment in my basketball career because I was challenged and forever changed.

So this is how it all started.

I was in the hallway of Robert Treat Academy getting a pep talk from my coach. Except pep

talks are supposed to make you hyped and in this case my coach singled me out. Imagine a

thousand pound weight sitting on your chest-- that’s what I felt when my coach kept repeating

“Cameron you are going to have to get them rebounds, blocking and scoring included. You are

the big man on our team”. My hands were shaking from excitement and nervousness. In a matter

of seconds I was to become the wall that was supposed to block every shot while simultaneously

trying to score and get rebounds.

After the world's most nerve-wracking pep talk it was starting time. I was getting ready at the tip

off. My feet? Grounded and ready to jump. As I looked around the court I wondered “who are all

these people cheering for?” Whoosh. A great big shadow loomed quickly over my head. Dang it.

I missed the tip off. I did not jump early enough and the other team was ready to get back on

defense when suddenly... BOOM! there it was-- a steal. I ran to the offensive side with speed

that sliced through the air. Anthony, my teammate, who had stolen the ball had scored. I was

back on defense. Someone drove up with the ball with the intention of shooting from the top of

the key, but this dream was short lived. Bam! I smacked the ball so hard it went flying across the

court with the intensity similar to that of lightning in a thunderstorm.

That did not break the other team's spirit. It seemed to have just made them furious because

instead of giving up, they tried a different approach. This new tactic involved using someone

who was as tall as me and had a good handle over the ball. When they scored I was thinking to

myself “why did this team have to come to the championship? Why couldn’t it have been easy

like last year?” Suddenly, I realized the difference between this year and last year's

championship. Even though this game was intense and challenging, I was having the most fun I

have ever had. We were going up against a team who was as great as our team, if not better. Who

was to become champion? It was too soon to tell.

A few more layups later and before we knew it we were in the second quarter. While I was on

the sidelines for this quarter, I was excited because I was able to play more than in previous

championships. While sitting down I was able to talk to my teammates and discuss how they felt

about the championship. Some said they were having fun, some were really hyper. So hyper that

at first glance you would think they had devoured too much candy before the game and were

experiencing a sugar rush.

Blink. Blink. Quarter three and things were getting more intense. I didn’t know why things

heated up the way they did compared to the previous quarter but I knew if I was going to play

against them, then I had to go a level above my limit. Before I knew it we were in quarter four

and that’s when I really felt the heat. The other team had the ball and when they drove up I

became overwhelmed. Here I was expected to protect the basket from all sides. It felt like I had

to be everywhere at once.

Quarter Four. As I looked around the court I noticed the sweat dripping off of my teammates and

needless to say they looked exhausted. Compared to my teammates I realized I was not tired,

which meant I could put in way more effort. Yet, this was no easy feat. I was stopped from doing

just about anything to help my team. When I tried passing the ball to my teammates I became

surrounded. So when I could not pass the ball I either threw the ball upward towards the

teammates I could see or held the ball making sure nobody could steal it. I felt stuck but then I

remembered a previous game.

In the league there was a girl who had so much fire in her game. She would dive onto the floor

just to get the ball and I remember wanting to have that much intensity in the way I played

basketball. That’s when I realized what I had to do. I tried to dribble up a little just to make sure

they could not block my field of vision. I passed it to my closest teammate and just like that they

scored. In a matter of seconds the other team came back, they got the ball, and scored. We were

tied. It was overtime.

My teammates and I were exhausted, but we knew we had to keep playing. We ended up with the

ball in overtime and it was a fast drive for both teams. We were all zooming up and down the

court once one team had gotten the ball. It was close to the end of overtime and it was the last

fast play. There were ten seconds on the clock and we were down by two. We had to score once

more to tie. The audience was counting down.Ten. Nine. Eight. My hands were sweating and my

heart was racing. I glanced around the court looking for the best person to make the layup. Who

could I trust with the ball in this moment? I heard the audience continue to chant. Seven. Six.

Five. I passed the ball in that moment to the one person I could count on, Jamir. We glanced at

each other. Four. Three. We knew what was about to happen. Two. Swish. We were tied with one

second to spare.

The other team had made a mistake and had to turn over the ball, giving us the chance we needed

to score another shot and win the game. Since this was a kids league, there were three seconds

put on the clock rather than there being only one. I had to pass the ball inbound but the opposing

team was blocking my view. In between the players there was a tiny space in which I could see

through.Three seconds. I was able to see my teammate, Jamir, who was standing by the half

court line. I threw the ball with as much force as I could and like a meteor it hit Jamir’s hands

with a loud bang. Two seconds. Jamir had the ball in his hand and he quickly drove through the

opposing team so fast it was like he was moving as swiftly as water traveling through a stream.

When Jamir jumped up for the layup everybody on the opposing team tried to stop him but it was

too late. One second left... All I heard was swish and the ball hitting the ground. Jamir did it!

Jamir had scored the winning point for the game. For a second, there was a moment of silence

after Jamir made the winning shot, which was a reflection of the tension that had built up

throughout the game. Everyone couldn’t believe the game had ended. I recall my dad yelling

something followed by everybody cheering and celebrating. Everybody was ecstatic.

As I was looking at my family celebrating, I experienced a feeling which I had never felt before.

This felt like true happiness. I was able to do everything I had wanted in this season. The feeling

of excitement hit me on the way home. This was the best feeling. I had won a championship.

However, I was reflecting on why I wasn’t cheering as much as I should have been and I realized

it's because I was looking back thinking about what I could have done differently to do more for

the team. In that moment, I decided not to revel in what I could have been and instead focus on

all the good I had achieved today. That was enough for me. That day I learned there is beauty in

the fact that you could just enjoy the moment, unapologetically.