Book 1 Post 2

In my first post about In My Skin: My Life On and Off the Basketball Court by Brittney Griner and Sue Hovey, I spoke about my lack of knowledge of Brittney Griner regarding who she was and her significance in the sports world. I only knew the absolute basics and got to be more aware of her life when she was detained in Russia in 2022. However, I knew I would want to learn more about who she was as a basketball player with her accomplishments on the court, and, more importantly, I wanted to learn about who she was as a person regarding her upbringing and how she got where she is today. I am proud to say that after finishing this book, I am not disappointed at all. Throughout this post, I will describe what I learned about Brittney Griner, the parts that stuck with me the most, and how I believe many people can relate to a part of her story.

One of the biggest things that I learned from this book is that Brittney Griner is a FIGHTER. I mean this in multiple aspects. First, she is a fighter in the sense that she has always been different than those surrounding her, but she fights against the adversity and strives to get where she needs to be. The second reason she is a fighter is more on the literal side. During her middle school years, Griner would get bullied every day for her size or "man-like" low voice. After constant abuse and bullying from her peers, she chose the route of fighting back and letting it be known that she was not someone to be messed with. As time went on, Griner realized and admitted the route of fighting back may have not been the best choice of action, but it was necessary for her to find herself and become the superstar she is today. She realized that through all the fighting back, she was holding on to so much anger that she did not want anymore. It led to her striving to be an even more forgiving person and not letting the opinion of others compromise her character. I think this is amazing and is definitely one of my favorite parts of the book. She transformed her anger and violence into forgiveness and kindness. I believe this step is one of the hardest things for someone to do, especially for someone who experienced so much hate and cruelty as Griner did. Brittney continues to keep this same philosophy to this day on and off the court.

I think many people can benefit from reading Brittney Griner's story. From being a quiet kid who was bullied to a WNBA legend, there are not many people in this world who cannot connect to at least one aspect of Griner's life. For me, it was when Griner talked about feeling different and seeming tough on the outside while she was "crumbling on the inside." I have felt similarly in my life-- in fact a quote that I live by is "Normal's Boring." Feeling different can make a lot of people self-conscious and have the feeling that everyone is staring at them--much like Griner described in her story. I have felt the same way, and what I benefitted from the book is seeing a star like Brittney Griner feel the same way. It helped me think about how everyone is going through things and can be self-conscious about absolutely anything. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and gained a lot from it. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants read a story about a celebrity overcoming their problems and insecurities and becoming who they are today!

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