Every great tale has its own fair share of ups and downs. Looking back at your own tale is an opportunity to appreciate how hard you worked, and how far you’ve come. From my darkest times, the most beautiful part of my life was born. Today, Per Sources has created an online interactive community where hundreds of thousands of people are connecting everyday to laugh, argue and debate different topics predominately focused on sports. We are also enabling young writers around the country to start working on their journalism careers, develop their writing skills, and gain attention to their work. My journey has allowed me to make numerous connections and the best friends in the world. However, in order to understand the purpose of Per Sources and just, “who is The Great TPR?” you need to understand my story. It’s a long one, so I’ll try to summarize the important parts to the best of my ability.
I was born in the city of Boston and lived there for the first 8 years of my life. Due to various problems and the cost of going to a decent school in the city, my parents made the tough decision of sending me to to their birthplace, Lebanon, for the next 7 years of my life. Yes, I am an American of 100% Lebanese descent.
I went from being the only “white kid” in my class, to a country where I did not speak the language. I was once again faced with the difficult task of ‘fitting in’ with a new group of kids at a very young age. I overcame many obstacles, made some great friends, and learned how to speak Arabic & French. Seven fast years later, I returned to the United States to finish my last two years of high school. Once again, I was leaving my life behind and starting over.
Although I did speak the language this time, the hardships which that came with trying to fit in were almost identical. Moving usually comes with loneliness, bullies, and various challenges.
It wasn’t until my UML days where I had finally figured out that the best way to ‘fit in’ was to simply be myself and be proud of that. My childhood was too different than the average Lebanese or American kid to ever be similar to either of them. I can see that now, but it was a difficult concept to understand growing up. However, there was one similarity I took with me every place I went. It was my love for the game of basketball.
I didn’t need to be Lebanese or American to play basketball. As we all know, the game of basketball is about getting buckets. It was on a basketball court I cried and grew the most. I still remember shooting free throws for hours under the freezing rain, even on my birthday. Rowan Atkinson had a famous quote, “I love walking in the rain cause no one can see me crying.” Despite the loneliness, I found comfort with each jump shot. As I got older, I started paying more attention to my Boston Celtics and the rest of the NBA. People wanted to talk sports with me and I loved everything about professional basketball. When everyone was raving about the New England Patriots, I was looking up the latest Boston Celtics related news. I don’t know why, but I never looked at the game from a player’s perspective. I always looked at it from a coach’s, or analyst’s perspective. If only I had a nickel for every-time someone said, “You should work for ESPN.”
Loneliness taught me how to fall in love with things beyond human interaction. Poverty taught me how to appreciate riches beyond wealth. Moving taught me to appreciate moments and people before they were gone. Lebanon helped me understand the beauty in hospitality, acceptance of others, culture, and faith. Lebanon also opened my eyes to the realities of war, terrorism, and global politics; and toughened me up. USA helped me value freedom of speech, opportunity, and diversity. USA also showed me the realities of racism, privilege, and ignorance. Each new adventure brought so many lessons and helped me meet so many amazing people.
Race, religion, and whether we were friends or not to begin with, did not matter on the basketball court. “Ball Is Life” was true a way of life, before it became a brand.
So where does Per Sources fit into all this?
Even when you’ve overcome and grown so much, life can find ways to humble you.
What could go wrong, did go wrong in 2013. Many obstacles I thought I had overcame were back to haunt me. Without diving too deep into the details, I will say I experienced severe depression for the first time in my life. Darkness consumed my mental and physical health. I’m always the one helping everyone; I could not bear the burden of others worrying about me so I pushed everyone I loved away. Throughout my misery, I continued to obsessively follow the NBA and pray every night for a way out. Eventually, a miracle happened. It was on my darkest day that I decided to google, “how to code a website?”
From my darkest times, the most beautiful part of my life was born.
I am a proud christian, Lebanese man. I am a proud American man. However, my happiness was not determined by any of that. When I was at my darkest times, I turned to faith and my first love, the game of basketball.
You know, it’s funny; I appreciate those times for helping me become the man that I am today. In a way, they influenced me to eventually create Per Sources and The Great TPR.
The Great TPR is more than my alter ego. The Great TPR, is more than just an online persona.
The Great TPR fights everyday to make Per Sources a positive experience for its community. The Great TPR challenges bullies and trolls. The Great TPR helps Per Sources lend a friendly hand to a lonely kid with no friends. The Great TPR helps Per Sources connect sports fans with each other. The Great TPR helps Per Sources distract sports fans from the tough times that they are facing. The Great TPR helps helps Per Sources be everything I needed and wish I had growing up. My name is Tony Phillip Rouhana, but The Great TPR is the friend and mentor I needed but did not have growing up. The Great TPR is everything I aspire to be one day.
From my darkest times, the most beautiful part of my life was born. I decided to finally write this story in hopes that it may inspire at least one kid to keep fighting on. I’m sharing a piece of my very private life with the world because I hope that if at least one person can relate with any of it, he or she will know that it will be okay.
Please help us reach more sports fans by telling your friends, family, and the world to follow Per Sources. It would mean a lot to me.
Per Sources Misses Nothing.