At one time, there was a defiant little girl, standing in front of the bull, like this…
Although small in stature at just 5 foot 4 inches, she carried herself to be a mighty force capable of anything. She had to show him again for the hundredth time how serious she was in pursuing her dream; playing in the WNBA. And of course once there, becoming a legendary player, winning championships, gaining endorsements and “oh” the media and instagram followers. The dream life would be crazy. But back to the moment at hand. It’s the start of Ananya’s junior year at Middlebury High and the bull, her new moniker for her unreasonable stepdad is giving her the talk, again. This time it has a more serious tone.
“Ananya you need to wake up, you’re 16, in two years you’ll be at the University, and you need to set up a stable background before your career. You’re childhood is over and sometimes you have to sacrifice games.”
Yes, Ananya knew she could’ve added one or two more AP classes to her schedule, and got an internship at the local hospital, but she wasn’t sacrificing this “game”, she couldn’t sacrifice her love. So, for the hundredth time, her automatic response didn’t change.
“Thanks for the motivation, I know the odds are stacked against me, but I will continue to work and perfect my craft as much as possible.”
Exasperated, the bull misses the cape and decides to just walk away. This response also has garnered some laughs from immature high schoolers who labeled Ananya as the small indian outcast, yet she was on a mission. What these immature high schoolers, her coaches who started Ananya on the jv team by the end of the season, and even her family didn’t know was how anxious she was that she wasn’t doing enough, she wasn’t tall enough, no indian woman has ever played in the WNBA before, and she was wasting her teenage years when realistically she could’ve faked interest in drama and chased after boys.
Yet Ananya’s perseverance paid off as she continued to rise through the ranks, year after year, and did just what her deprecating stepdad told her she couldn’t do, she had faith in her dream and herself and got her dream life.