Jeremy Lin took an improbable road to Harvard and then the NBA, but there is one aspect of his life that stays with him and impacts him to this day.
The Hornets point guard wrote a response to an article in The Atlantic this month that revealed the 10-year suicide rate at Palo Alto High School, where Lin attended, is between four and five times the national average. That stat, unfortunately, hits close to home for Lin.
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"When I was a freshman at Palo Alto High, a classmate who sat next to me committed suicide," Lin wrote on Facebook. "I remember having difficulty registering what had happened. A year later, a friend committed suicide. I saw up close the pain and devastation of their loved ones and in my community."
Lin said it made him realize that people carry burdens that aren't always seen by the naked eye. He also realized that people should be more sensitive and take the time to listen to each other about issues that hide below the surface.
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The basketball star added that he was "proud" to be from Palo Alto and though he doesn't have the insights of a high school student, he believes people are "worth so much more than their accomplishments."
Lin, 27, has only started one game for Charlotte this season, but he's contributed 10.7 points per game in 23 contests overall this season. His improbable run to the NBA was shaped by his youth, but he said he understands the pressure kids face today.
"The pressure to succeed in high school is all too familiar to me," Lin wrote. "I distinctly remember being a freshman in high school, overwhelmed by the belief that my GPA over the next four years would make or break my life. My daily thought process was that every homework assignment, every project, every test could be the difference ... The difference between happiness and misery."
It's been a long journey in the NBA for Lin, going from sparking "Linsanity" with the Knicks to playing a bench role for the Hornets. He's used his faith in God to guide him through the tough times and seems to have a great perspective on life.
"Separating myself from my results is not an easy lesson and I've had to relearn this in every stage of my life," he wrote. "The world will always need you to accomplish more, do more, succeed more. After 'Linsanity' there was the pressure to have great performances every night, to become an All-Star, to win championships. I still dream big and give my all in everything I do, but I know that success and failure are both fleeting."
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