Unlike many on staff, I’m actually not a Phoenix Suns fan. I’m also the youngest person on staff, yet one of the longest tenured. I’m a journalism student at Syracuse University. I’m just a 22-year-old
who is looking for every opportunity I can to work in sports media, and luckily, site manager John Voita saw, read, and responded to my 161-word DM on what was then called Twitter more than two years ago to get this gig started for me.
Since then, I’ve published 255 articles, covered double-digit NBA events in person, including multiple nationally televised games, Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant’s return games, and the NBA Draft. I’m truly lucky.
Bright Side of the Sun isn’t just a blog to me, it’s a place and symbol of the growth that I’ve experienced in my young media career. I’ve learned so many invaluable lessons, met so many inspiring people, and made the 19-year-old version of myself stunned, realizing that 22-year-old Holden has gotten to experience so many cool things much earlier than he thought could ever be possible, if it was possible.
Being able to achieve some of my dreams much younger than I anticipated gives me not only so much hope for my future, but also the belief to try and always be a go-getter, that rejection or failure are not roadblocks but rather opportunities to learn.
The first time I was at an NBA press conference, in a locker room, and talking to reporters whom I looked up to was a lesson for me. All of the stuttering, awkward standing, and fear that were in me from those times were opportunities for me to grow and be grateful, not to be scared and conceited.
This site has shown that, like New Radicals say, “we only get what we give.” First and foremost, I wouldn’t be where I am without Voita and the late great Dave King trusting a 20-year old to fly out to Philadelphia to cover Joel Embiid vs Kevin Durant, but I’ve also learned that my ability to write tight and fast on deadline, stay composed when talking to Devin Booker postgame and have the confidence to introduce myself to any reporter comes from my willingness to try things and accept that I may fail at them at times, if not most of the time.
In my personal life, I typically am very hard on myself, and when I go through my camera roll and see videos of me talking to Dylan Harper before the draft, asking Bradley Beal questions after he dropped 43 points in his return to Washington D.C., and the fact that I have NBA Press Passes that say “LR” (meaning locker room access), that always trying to do more, wanting to maximize my best self, always wired version of Holden can be put on a temporary pause. It gives me a moment to be proud of how far I’ve come and ground myself.
I’m a little less than six months away from graduating college, and whether I end up in Arizona, Montana, or California for my first job, I know that this site, the people running it, and the community will have played a major part in helping me, and I’m forever thankful for that.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope everyone has a peaceful day filled with great food, close football games, and quality family time.
