There is a lot of Showpiece in this museum. Only this one is related to our curator. He used to be a fat guy; people around him in school don’t want to make friends with him. He used to a low self-esteem boy. When one door shuts, another opens; He is tall, he was around 5.7 feet tall when he was 12 years old. Simultaneously, at the age of 12, he was introduced to the basketball varsity in middle school, and that was the first time for him to contact with basketball. He started his basketball career in middle school. However, he was too fat to run fast, and he wanted to give up on basketball so many times. What does basketball can bring to him? For him, nothing.
His coach didn’t want him gives up in such a short time; because he knew everything is going to have a process, and he believed basketball could give him more than he expected.
“There is a guy called Kobe Bryant, and he is one of the starters of the Los Angeles Lakers. You should watch some of his games and learn something from him.”
He never expected that he would go and watch his matches. What is more surprised is he found that Kobe is really a cool player. His layup, jump shot, and fadeaway strongly attracted him.
He wants to be a basketball player like Kobe Bryant.
He became stronger and taller in the days after. He is hard-working every day because Kobe said: “Have you ever seen Los Angeles at 4 am?” He believes Mamba Mentality so badly; it always encourages him to compete and not to worry about the end results. He never stops training every day. Gradually, basketball becomes part of his life.
When he was 15, he left his Hometown in China and went to middle school in NewYork city alone. He was too young to bear loneliness, and what worse is he couldn’t understand any English at that time. Fortunately, basketball saved his life. There is a basketball court in the community he lived. He made a lot of friends and practiced his English because of basketball. Basketball is his lucky star; it helps him made the tryout in high school, and he is also the first Chinese in the team. Mamba Mentality has assisted him for eight years. Not only in basketball but also in his life. In 2016 April Fourth, Kobe claimed his retirement, and people said their youth end along with his retirement. But for him, his youth is fresh forever because of Mamba Mentality.
He never expected that day would come. Kobe Bryant was killed by helicopter crash. He woke up early that day to deal with his work. When he first saw that news, he was mad at people who make that rumor. However, more and more people published that accident. He devastated and started to believe that’s true.
He was heartbroken that night. He even did not sleep all night because Kobe means too much for him. Kobe brought him back from the darkness and supported him to be better. But death cannot be resurrected; he has to accept all of this. The next day, he gave us a basketball as a showpiece and an introduction said: “We can’t predict accidents and tomorrow which one would come to us first; what we all can do is enjoy every single day that we have right now.”
Heros come and go
But legends are forever
Thank you, Mr.Kobe Bryant
Museum Of Ugly 