Story about "love is love"

Editor’s note: This year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up, and huge changes have been made in Beijing, capital of China, over the past 40 years. We have invited 40 foreign experts to participate in a series of interviews named “New Era, New Insight” jointly hosted by GMW.cn（The official website of Guangming Daily） and the Information Office of Beijing Municipality and share their “Beijing Stories”.

I had the opportunity to have a chance to come to Beijing and play, have an opportunity to come to come to the capital. I mean at my age, I was completely aware of what was happening.

I knew this was my chance, and when I knew was my chance are completely took advantage with that summerand I trained as hard as I could. I gave everything I had just to see what I could put out? I wanted to see about really good happen from myself to see I could put everything that was inside me out, and I did. I play two best games that I ever play in my whole entire life,

play against SHANXI team that when another direction. Two back to back games. I never did that before, so I knew I was in a different space, a different zone and that positive energy that they gave me was it moved to another place.

I like that Beijing has its own culture, has his own style. I like being an identifier with something that I do by something that I say, and it doesn't affect or it's not anything negative is positive so something messages identify with.

I mean it’s so many new buildings that have built. I mean I look at the building, the CCTV building, and then there's a new building near that being built. To now it been like in the sky of the building is next to it, and you wonder how fast how deep build that so fast, where you live like I living in America, that project will take ten to fifteen years.

Three years is almost built when you see that you know you're in another place, you know things have been done differently, so for me seeing things like that, it's kind of like things are changing, you see how fast the economy is growing, how fast things are moving is all about speed so you get a really experience, you know everything that's happened in here.

1454 The subway now I haven't taken the subway in America in a long time, but I've taken the subway more here. In American at least twenty years. I've taken the subway in China more than I'm taking the subway in America and I live twenty blocks from the subway.

When you come to Coney Island is only really one way in and one way out, and when you come in silicone? I lived like at the end and then there's nothing else at the back side, so I have to go all the way to the front side to leave out of Coney Island. So you take the train every day or you take the bus, and for me not to take the train or bus, and I still living in New York, you can see the growth and development right there,

And how the train system is running completely different than how it was run in years ago and now people give to utilize the train, so you stop pollution. You minimize traffic jams, so all of these things that I haven't been in Beijing in it, in the speed of it. I mean it's all positive and I'm a part of it and these are some of the amazing great things that I share.

Now I embraced every second that I'm breathing that I'm living. I enjoy being free to teach, to help. I'm happy that I give the opportunity to spend more time with my family, I get more time to work on things that I like to do that I'm comfortable with doing, I get to be places that I'd like to be I've visited, I went to XI’AN and I've visited to Cotta Warriors.

So I got to see something that I wanted to see in China, in going to see that. I'm appreciative of have an opportunity of doing all the different things that I can do, but as I live in our brief right now, I’m just excited for the future to be able to continue that teach the youth.

To all kids, first thing I want you guys to do, something that I've been challenge in my campers to do is I want you to do fifty to a hundred pushups, Monday to Friday in at least fifty sit-up. This will help you when you get on a basketball court, this will help you start. if you're not strong enough to play basketball you can start it.

If your plan you are not getting strong, you just gonna continue to play the way how your play. But if you start getting strong and you work on playing basketball on the correct way, then you'll be able to grow,you'll be able to know how to play, this is teacher MA telling you this. So try it, they'll help you.

China has given me an opportunity to play basketball again. Beijing, you let me become someone that I never dare to think that I could become, and let me relived the deep love that I never dare to think I deserve. You gave my life a chapter that it’s a dream. In this chapter, I achieved my dream and my promise. In the future, this chapter will continue to be written in this magical city and will be filled with even more obstacles and sacrifices, more courage and dedication.

This story is about a New Yorker in Beijing, about a second chance in life, about big dreams, about miracle and more importantly, it’s a story, about love.

I always say Love is love.