Recently, I read an article entitled When Ball Really Is Life by Amna Subhan.  The piece touched a special place in my heart; like Subhan, I too am the daughter of immigrant parents. Subhan’s piece begins in 1980’s America and takes the reader on a journey through time. She skillfully details how the simple sport of basketball brought comfort and normalcy to her Pakistani father as he started his new life in America.  

I strongly related to her story as my own father had also used basketball as a crutch; he had been fans of the same teams and players mentioned in Subhan’s piece. As I read, Subhan’s writing stirred the pot of nostalgia, bringing back fond memories of my childhood and how my father would religiously watch the games, just like her dad. It made me feel compassion for what both of my parents went through in their decision to move to America from their comfortable homes in India. It reminded me of their sacrifices for their children, and also reminded me of what it is possible to build in a country like America if you are a hard-working individual.

The goal of this piece was to create a hook and theme that is weaved throughout the entire piece. This is something that I feel Subhan accomplished. With her simple lines, “The year was _____,” she engages the reader with the passage of time, all the while making the reader wonder, “What will happen in the present?” The hook allows her to establish a good pace for the piece, and push time along with snapshots of her father’s life at different pivotal junctures. 

Although she spends much of the piece speaking about the year 1986, it is done with intention, to showcase the myriad of struggles faced by a new immigrant in this country. She shows these struggles due to differences, while also thoughtfully showing how there are hidden similarities between cultures that can provide equitable happiness (e.g. her father’s passion for sports translated from cricket to basketball.) If a person wants it badly enough, they can find comfort and acceptance anywhere.  

Subhan affectively uses her parents’ own words to develop the character of her father for this story. Through their dialogue, you learn about him as a person (i.e. he was a sportsman and doctor), what he valued (i.e. family and children), and his ethics (i.e. work discipline and loyalty). Although I felt I learned about her father’s essence, I did feel myself always asking another question.  

For example: How old was her father in 1986? What was it about “his connection of faith” that brought him to basketball? Why was it peaceful for him to watch this sport? Why did he identify with Kareem?and finally What made him continue to watch basketball even when life became, seemingly, easier?  I feel like these are natural questions that arise with a piece of this nature, and that it would shed further light on her father’s background and connection to this sport. 

This piece also had grammatical errors that, at times, made it difficult to read. Sometimes a run-on sentence or word choice made certain passages clumsy. However, these issues did not affect the overall tone of the piece.  They are easily fixed with simple edits and possible rearrangement of sentences. It is a credit to the author, that despite these errors, her piece is still highly effective at conveying the intended message. I found myself wanting to read more, and was not deterred, showing the skill in the author’s choice of subject matter and style.

The thing that surprised me the most about this piece was how Subhan took a topic that normally results in negative discussion and completely spun it into something positive. So many authors focus on the negativity of struggles faced when coming to a new country. The entire focus of this piece was on a sport, and how it became a lifeline to success and happiness. She did an exquisite job at keeping the struggle real, but not overpowering. It makes the reader have faith that her father will make it through, and that anyone facing struggles can make it through. This all culminates in the end of the piece (arguably the best part) where her father explains how he is proud to share the tradition of basketball with his children. 

“It’s important to pass it on to my kids because it was something that brought me happiness after coming here. I’m proud to see my kids enjoying it too.”