When I dragged my unbelievably heavy suitcase to the airport, I realized I have over packed once again. I may need to get rid of some stuff if I want to bring back a poncho.
What’s waiting for me was a dreadful 30-hour journey. I will first fly to Dallas. From there I will continue to Miami, then Lima and finally land in Cuzco. Before the plane taking off, I flipped through the magazine at my seat. There was a piece about the tennis player Sloane Stephens.
I’m not a tennis fan. I only watched a few games in my middle school and the closest I’ve ever been for tennis was when I interned for Rolex during China Open at my second year of college. One day Andy Roddick came as he was the brand ambassador then. Even though he already started to lose hair, I was still thrilled to see him and told him I liked him since my middle school (by which I meant I thought you were really good looking and I didn’t care how you played). I once told my friend JB that I thought Djokvich was nice. JB started to play racket since he was a little boy and he is a huge tennis fan. I remembered he looked at me with this unbelievable look, “Seriously? You like Djokvich?” Well, his playing was painfully boring, but he was very reliable to win the game. Also he got a beautiful pair of calves. It was enough for a non-tennis people like me.
So you will not feel surprised if I tell you, besides Serena Williams, I can’t name another active female tennis player at the moment. When I fumbled at that article about Stephens, my first reaction was “who is she”. As I read along, I found it quite interesting.
Stephens is a brilliant tennis player. She has defeated Serena Williams and won the U.S. Open once. But she is not a great tennis player. Some former players said she lacks the drive which can make her great and she is interested in too many other things. The media also criticized her aloofness to the game as she didn’t break the racquet when she lost and neither did she shout when she won. She handled all these comments the same way she handled tennis, healthy and gracious — “I care about my game, but I also have a life”. Clearly she is a bit odd in the tennis world.
I remembered what Bobby Axelrod said in Billions, “You need to find your leverage and press hard on that.” This is a very different approach towards talents. I was fascinated by the character of Axelrod in that show, by his drive, his determination and his ability to get the shit done. I guess we all fantasize a hero when we are weak and long for the strength.
Then I thought hard if there was a Stephens type of character in Billions. Luckily I couldn’t think of anyone. Otherwise I will have a hard time to choose who to side with.
I once had a question whether it is ungrateful if you don’t work harder and develop your talents if you are so lucky to have them. There are tons of people who don’t have talents and still try their best and there are also people who have the talents but don’t have the means to maximize that potential. The night before I flew to Peru, I went to watch a documentary about Mira Rai. It’s not a strange name for the trail running community. She is one of the top female trail runners in the world. In stark contrast with her well-decorated trail running career, it’s her humble background. Coming from a rural and poor area in Nepal, Mira dropped out the school at the age of 12 and ever since has fought for her survival. The opening of this documentary was a monologue by Mira herself, “Opportunities are like leaves on the water. You have to grab them when you got the chance — as they may never come back.” This line would echo with so many people who don’t have the privilege to entitlements and options.
As someone who constantly feels confusing, being 35,000 ft high wouldn’t magically clear my mind. I still have questions and struggles about talents and opportunities. What we should do about the talents and opportunities? And what we should do about lack of talents and opportunities?
In a naïve and ideal scenario, I believe in diversity. Dumb as me, I know this is not the case in the real world. I guess that’s why I can only think of Serena Williams when it comes to female tennis players without even a vague idea of Sloane Stephens. But who knows what Stephens will be remembered for? Then again, the standards of the real world change too.