“My Mum Taught Me That Rejection Is Not The End”- Man Fulfill Childhood Dreams Of Playing Basketball After His Mum Motivated Him

A man named Isaiah M. Wellington-Lynn has shared a lengthy post on LinkedIn celebrating his mum who inspired him to achieve his childhood dreams.

Read his post below:

My mum taught me that rejection is not the end; it’s just the beginning.

As a teenager, I dreamed of playing basketball in the States and studying at UCL, Harvard or Oxford. I grew up in Stratford, East London. I was neurodiverse, we had a low income, and my schooling environment made me feel that these dreams were impossible at best and delusional at worst.

But my mum never allowed me to believe that. She always went above and beyond to show me that I had every right to dream audaciously.

But, the first major basketball team I tried out for cut me. And I was rejected from UCL, Harvard and Oxford the first time I applied.

At the time, those felt like huge blows. They knocked my confidence and self-esteem, and although I knew there were other options, I did consider that perhaps my ambitions were too high.

However, my mum empowered me to bounce back every time. She believed in me when I struggled to have any reason to believe in myself. She also made me realise that my self-worth was not based on my credentials but on my character, values and how I showed up for myself and to people around me.

She taught me that resilience and faith are important to me. And it’s with those qualities that I’ve pursued my dreams. It brings me so much joy and gratitude to share that I represented the London and England basketball squads and competed in international basketball competitions and scouting conferences in New York, New Jersey and North Carolina.

And I graduated from UCL with a FIRST CLASS degree in Anthropology, graduated from my program at Harvard with a 3.9/4.0 in Anthropology, Sociology, Engineering Science, Psychology and African-American Studies. And I am 2 terms into my Anthropology PhD at Oxford.

I dedicate all of my athletic and academic successes to you, Mum, and to everyone else who supported and encouraged me when I felt like I had failed: my teachers, mentors, tutors, fundraisers, donors, basketball coaches, personal coaches, osteopaths and therapists, thank you!

To all parents who strive to give their children the best opportunities and endow them with courage, bravery and resilience, we appreciate you!