Americana, New Jersey Style

How a multicultural community helped an awkward eighth-grader reflect on his identity

Photo by Martin Jernberg on Unsplash

I’m running out of patience while standing at the free-throw line on a YMCA basketball court. My shots are catching nothing but air. Not one has hit the backboard. None have kissed the rim. My incompetence is shouting to the spectators, “Your eyes aren’t betraying you! And…