Hello, Steemit Philippines!

I am back with another digital painting in our community! I really hope you will be entertained and will love the process. So, without further ado, let's get right into it!

I have never been a basketball player. But I did play before, and everytime I played it before something just happened which made me not want to play it. I was even teased by my classmates and cousins to be gay because I cannot play it. That made me horrible growing up surrounded by people who can play and loves playing it.

I used the following tools in the procreate app to be able to produce this masterpiece:

• Procreate Brush - I use this for sketching.
• Flip Tool - I use this to quickly check the proportions of my drawing.
• Spectra Brush - I use this to build-up the painting.
• Smudge Tool - I use this to blend colors and soften edges.
• Old Skin, Flicker, Driven Snow Brush - I used these brushes to work on the skin.

When I was still a kid, I used to go to a furniture shop to get and collect small pieces of cut lumber to be used for cooking. We didn't have a stove back then. One afternoon, I was invited by my neighbors to play with them because they needed one more player so that they could start playing basketball.

I refused. But they started to tease me again, "Bayota"! So, I dropped the sack full of small pieces of cut wood and approached them to play. I got tired easily from running to and from the two basketball rings. Then, there was this sudden strong basketball pass that I was not ready for.... That hit was very painful!

When I opened my eyes, I was already in our house. I didn't know how it happened because the last memory I had was I was still on that field. They told me that I passed out after I was hit by the ball straight to my face! Well, at least I only passed out, not passed away. After that incident, my neighbors and cousins no longer invited me to join them.

When I reached high school, another group of males constantly invited me to play basketball. I always make my "household chores" my excuse for not playing with them. Because it is very shameful to admit to them that I didn't know how to play and I was hit by a ball once and knocked out.

During high school, like any other male beings, I started to get attracted to women, or in other words, I wanted to have a girlfriend. But high school girls love watching basketball games during School Intramurals and go cheer their favorite basketball players or their crushes! Which I could never do! So that is why I didn't like Intramurals and that was why I wasn't confident to get a girlfriend.

But don't get me wrong! I tried learning to play basketball. So, one afternoon my cousin Harry told me that he would teach me how to play basketball. He taught me how to dribble, but the ball always had a way out of my hands. He taught me how to do the lay-up, but he always would tell me that I did a "travelling violation". He taught me how to shoot, which by the way I could do, but his feedback was that I looked awkward. I knew that too because I felt awkward too! I knew I didn't have that swag and confidence because I felt that everyone was staring at me and secrectly laughing at me.

So, the least I could do for my self during high school years was to avoid getting invited to play. I didn't have a lot of male friends or a high school barkada because of my incompetence in playing basketball. So, I just accepted the fact that I cannot play basketball.

When I was in college, Intramurals was already exciting for me, because I was already very good at a game! I played scrabble and had the chance to represent the College of Education! So, I realized my skills are in board games because I play chess, too! Aside from that, I am also well-versed with tong-its, chikicha, and the madjong! Knowing and these games made me feel good at my self. I said to my self, "Forget, Basketball!"

So that made college very easy and basic for me! Most of my classmates were girls because I took up Education! (Shout out to my friends and classmates who are here in Steemit, @rye143 and @jenesa). Having a 90% female population while studying in college was a relief because I didn't have to refuse an invitation to play basketball.

Until this one semester with one PE instructor! Since there were 6 or 7 of us who are males, he said that he would be matching us up to his other class which happens to be Engineering students. I could not say "no" to it because my grades were at stake and it was PE.

Fastforward. We were in the covered court of Cebu Technological University, Main Campus, college students who didn't have classes during that time used to pass time in this covered court, and I was about to play basketball against engineering students. Then, whistle was blown - the cue that the game would start!

At the first few minutes of the game, two players from the opposite side guarded me, maybe because I stand taller compared to my teammates/classmates. But in later part of the game, nobody was guarding me because they already detected that I couldn't play the game like how my other classmates were doing.

To make the story short, they won! It was very embarassing! And that made me say, "I WILL NEVER PLAY BASKETBALL AGAIN!"

Now here's another person who "WILL NEVER PLAY BASKETBALL AGAIN", Kobe Bryant! But, he is not like me because he is a "Basketball Icon". Maybe all his life was all about basketball practices and basketball tournaments, maybe he has a basketball court in his house and maybe he has a basket ball displayed in his bedroom.

Kobe Bryant has found his spotlight in the basketball arena. He is perfect for it and he was certainly born for it. My arena? I do not know! It could be in the school where I am teaching, it could be with ARTS, it could be here in Steemit, It could be through Vlogging, it could be in my future marriage, and it could be in everything I do.

How about you? Where is your arena?

I hope you enjoyed this blog. Thank you so much for sparing your time with me. Until next time!