My name is Jamie Taylor Harper. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. My date of birth is July 26th, 1993 which makes me 17 years old. My mother’s name is Cherie Harper, my father’s name is Shawn Harper Sr., and my older brother’s name is Shawn Harper Jr. When I was younger I always wanted to be like my older brother. He played a game that I would later have a great love for and cherish. This game was basketball. At first I only played it because he was, and I wanted to do everything that he did. Later in my young life I grew love and passion for this game. Basketball is my life and I love everything about it. It makes me feel good.
The Elementary School I attended was called Brentwood Science Magnet. I went there with my brother for two years, since he is three years older than me. At that school I made friends, but none I would keep past those five years there. I was pretty popular at that school because I was the best basketball player by far. From there I went to the Middle School, New West Charter. I didn’t want to go there but my mom forced me. I wanted to attend Palms Middle School. In Middle School I had a good three years there, and remained in the popular crowd.
Then it was time to go to high school. I have attended three high schools. The first school I went to was University High School. I went there for two years. I played basketball for them because my love for the game began to grow. I wasn’t very popular when I was a freshman but that is because I came into the school knowing very few people. But as time went on I started knowing more and more people since I hung out with all older people. By the time I got to the tenth grade, more people knew me than I knew at the school. I started to have problems with the basketball coach there. He started benching me and taking away playing time from me. Till the day I die I still won’t know why he did that. I was one of the best players on the team too. It cost him many games too. I got benched for a Facebook status I posted after a game. I don’t even know how he saw it since my profile is blocked to people who are not my friend. He wasn’t going to help me get into college for basketball so I decided to leave.
I decided to go to Inglewood High School. When I would see Inglewood High, I would always say, “I am never going to that school.” I found that funny that I ended up going there and playing basketball for them. Transferring to Inglewood I only knew two people, and I didn’t know them very well. I made friends pretty quick and met more people as the school year went on. When I told people I came from University High School they would ask why I switched, I told them for basketball. They would then think I wasn’t very good because University wasn’t a basketball school and good players don’t come out of there. I wouldn’t argue with them, I just waited for a chance to show them. When the basketball season started and people saw that I was good, I got a whole new respect. There are still people who hated on me for whatever reason, but they inspired me. From there, I then transferred to City Honors High School, but I could still play for Inglewood which was good.
When I was 7 I had my tonsils taken out because they were infected. This was a big surgery for me and at the time I was very scared. I didn’t want to have it done, but it was affecting me very much. I also had something in my nose taken out that I still don’t know what it was. I do know that both things were affecting my breathing greatly. I also had bad asthma at that age so having those 3 problems was not going well for me. After the surgery was done I did see major improvement. As I grew older I grew out of my asthma. I still have it, but it is not bad at all and barely comes up. When I would get sick, before I grew out of it, the asthma would take over my body and I could barely breathe a lot. I would miss a lot of school because of this.
School is very important to my parents, mostly my mother. She expected for me to get good grades. But me being competitive, I would never want anything to be bad because I felt I could do just as good as the so called “smart kids” in the class. I tried to stay getting A’s and B’s. My 11th grade year I maintained a 4.0 GPA both semesters. My parents were very proud of me. I still always wondered why they don’t push up grades to my brother because he always brought C’s home. Getting good grades I knew would help me for my future because I know I want it to be the best it could possibly be.
When I turned 17 I started to think more about my future and the person I was and who I wanted to be. I knew I had to change my ways. I started to work harder in the things that I did. I also started reading the Bible on my own time. I knew the person I wanted to be, I just needed something to help me mold myself into that person. I got help from my best friend, Darien Whitman, which I met while I was at University High School. He wanted to change and get more serious too. It was much easier knowing I had someone to help me and check up on me, and I would do the same for him. He would also help me workout since he loved basketball too.
As I’ve been told I come off as cocky. I never have seen it and deny it, but it is some things you can’t change. I have made remarks that are cocky, but when I said them I was just playing around. I still do it sometimes but not often. I tried to stop been seen as cocky, but people still say it. I think it is just confidence. When people ask me if I good in basketball I would say duh, but now I just say “I guess so.” I would rather show people then tell them. I don’t like to “gas myself up” because staying humble keeps me in my place. And that is where I need to be. I like when people talk about me in a negative way because I makes me work harder to perfect that area.
Working hard and not taking the easy way out is the way I do everything. I have never been the person that would win free things. I would always have to work hard to buy them, or work hard to win it. Raffles, drawings, meaningless games, bets, never won those. It is alright with me though because I know all the hard work I put in won’t be wasted in the future. My favorite quote of all time, and that I live by is by Robert Frost. “Two roads diverged in a wood and I-- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
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