Andrew
Usually sitting next to a stranger for a long period of time can be awkward and uncomfortable. When someone sits right next to you in a movie theater, or on a flight, or during some type of meeting or conference, you find yourself having an internal conflict, debating whether or not to move over, or fake going to the bathroom just to find another seat, but you don’t want to come off as rude. The struggle is real. But surprisingly, it wasn’t awkward catching a Cubs game with Andrew one evening, even though I literally met him for the first time an hour or two earlier, right outside the front gates of Wrigley Field. I had an extra ticket, why not give it to a complete stranger.
With a cold brew in hand, and Jon Lester on the mound for the Cubs, Andrew and I took in the game and opened up about sports and life. I felt as if I were catching up with an old friend.
Andrew is currently in a season of exploration. “I want to try new things and find out my limits,” says Andrew. He is currently attending the Roosevelt University, and majoring in pharmacy. He also works at a Walgreens as a Pharmacy intern, and looks to one day become a Pharmacist. A defining moment in his life was when he was twenty-five years old, working at a restaurant and bar, and one night while cleaning up vomit he told himself to go back to school. Another reason why he wants to become a Pharmacist, he says as cliché as it may sound, he wants to help people.
I was able to relate to Andrew, not just because of our love for sports, but also the fact that we are both first generation Americans. His family immigrated to Chicago, Illinois from China years ago.
Andrew became a Cubs fan at an early age while watching their games on television. When I asked him what it is like to be Cubs fan, he replied, “One sick joke,” then let out a laugh. The last time the Chicago Cubs won the World Series was 108 years ago. He goes on to recall the times he was disappointed over the years after the Cubs early exits in the playoffs, even recounting the infamous NLCS game in 2003, that is known by many Cubs fans simply as the Bartman incident. On that strange October night, a fan named Steve Bartman, will forever live in infamy, reached out for a foul ball and interfered with Moises Alou’s catch, which led to the unravelling of the game and inevitably the Cubs chances of reaching the World Series. “I was in high school when it happened. I cried,” says Andrew jokingly.
I can somewhat relate to Andrew’s plight of being a Cubs fan. I myself am a Dodger fan, and the last time the Dodgers won the World Series I was two months old, I just recently celebrated my twenty-eigth birthday. That’s a long time, but 108 years is an eternity. I asked if he has ever rooted for another team, or contemplated becoming a fan of another team, such as the cross town rivals, the Chicago White Sox, Andrew said he couldn’t root for any other team because at the end of the day the Cubs are his team. Now that’s faithfulness.
When asked what piece of advice would you give your younger self, he replied, “I wouldn’t tell myself anything. My life experiences made me who I am.”
Before he dies, he wants to go bungee jumping.
An interesting quote Andrew said was a twenty-five cent analogy he heard somewhere about life. It doesn’t matter what combination of change you have, five nickels, or a two dimes and five pennies, or one quarter, in the end it all adds up to twenty-five cent, you can get to the same endpoint in many different ways and no path is correct.
84 stories to go.
