Ayaan Bakaly

I have spent most of my life either playing or watching sports. Sports have helped me overcome some of the lowest points in my life, help build meaningful relationships, and have also helped me learn life-changing skills.

Growing up, my parents were always working to provide for our family. That meant I was mainly under the supervision of my grandparents. This led to me having social issues when interacting with my peers in school.

During recess, when my classmates would be playing soccer or playing tag, they would not ask me to play. Why would they ask me to play? A Pakistani kid who was short, obese, and socially awkward. Who would ever want to be associated with someone like that?

After school, I would come home and stuff my face in front of the TV while watching NFL Network or ESPN. For me sitting in front of the TV was a safe space. No one bothered me and I was doing something that made me feel happy. Little did I know, I was growing closer to food and sports while I was growing apart from my family.

Looking in the mirror I was not happy with how I looked and who I was becoming. My parents were trying to ensure that I had everything, yet here I was doing nothing. It was time to make a change. I would go on to move schools and was blessed to do so. An opportunity that I had to take advantage of.

I made some new friends who didn’t judge me for who I was and who motivated me to be better every day. We would get together after school to play football. As time went on, I started to notice a difference in how I looked and also gained some self-confidence in the process of all this. I learned crucial skills like communication, how to be a leader, how to work as a team, as well as just having fun sometimes. These skills have led me to many new opportunities and have also helped shape me into who I am today.

In the process of trying to make a change, I got the opportunity to build a better relationship with my dad. He has a very strong interest in Cricket and Football. He had played a big role in introducing sports to my life, but would never have much time to watch with me. Once we moved and were better set off, he would make time to watch with me which made our relationship stronger than ever. To this day we enjoy every Pakistan cricket match along with every miserable Falcon loss.

As a college student, my goal is to do the best I can to make it to the sports industry. After all the sacrifices my parents have made, this is the least I can do. Achieve my dream.