Today, February 10th is a glorious day. I mean, every day is a glorious day, but today is significantly special. Not only did Christian made his long-awaited return to WWE on the ECW brand (albeit uninspiring commentary from Todd Grisham) four years ago today, and not only did I reunite with a close friend of mine (see Aspire To Inspire for more details) two years ago today, but it was this day one year ago that forever changed the rest of my life.

As I've discussed various times in past posts, I went through a strange couple of years in 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively. My entire life was basically a roller coaster: with each rise and drop occurring at the most inopportune of times. Sure, the rises were fun, but the drops were far from it. This period in my life has been come to known as my "dark days". I didn't like who I was or who I was becoming as time progressed. In late 2011, after seemingly overcoming every obstacle set in front of me, I finally achieved ultimate happiness... or so I thought. Long story short, the girl who I supposably really liked ending up turning her back on me shortly thereafter, so I was back to where I started. I was in a bad place before, but now it grew ten times worse. I was sick of getting screwed over and not being happy all the time. I grew extremely frustrated with everyone, especially myself. I dwelled on the past too much to the point that I was either trying to recreate it or thinking of things that I could've of done to change it. By January of last year, I came to the conclusion that I needed to end it all. No, I'm not talking about suicide, despite the fact that's what most people thought it was. I received texts and tweets for weeks inquiring about what I was going to do after I began promoting FINAL.FRIDAY.21012 in all of my posts. Could I have told them what I was planning? Sure, but that would've taken away from the big surprise.

First and foremost, Happy New Year! I hope had a very happy and safe happy New Year this past week with friends and family. I sure know I did. Of course, it's sad to see 2012 now behind us, but I'm also extremely excited for what lies ahead. Personally, 2012 was easily the best year of my life thus far. I met some awesome people and achieved some amazing things, so I'm overly satisfied with how my year went in 2012. As great as last year was, I'll be looking to make 2013 even better. It'll be a challenge to accomplish such a task, but I'm always up for a challenge. If you didn't have a good year in 2012, then that alone should motivate you to make this year much better. Your past is irrelevant, as it's the future that truly matters. Strive to make 2013 your year to shine and never look back.

With the new year finally upon us, it's that time of the year again to start making new year's resolutions. It's quite common nowadays for people to give up on their resolutions shortly after making them, but separate yourself from those typical people by sticking to your resolution. Many people set goals to lose weight or to eat healthier, and while those resolutions are fine and dandy, they're a bit generic. Instead, make a resolution that can be specifically applied to you. Find an area in your life that you feel could use some work. Whether it be getting your work in on time or simply thinking more positive, there's always something you can work on. While it's impossible to achieve perfection, strive yourself on coming as close as possible. For example, I've always found that one of my biggest flaws is getting frustrated over the little things in life. I'll be looking to improve upon that over the course of this year and hoping that issue will be resolved by the year's end. Additionally, I've also made numerous goals I hope to achieve as well that mostly include my writing and other activities. It's never too late to set a goal, but start as soon as you possibly can. The feeling of accomplishing that goal is a surreal one. So, work towards that goal and stay motivated while doing so. 

As I've stated numerous times before, December is by far my favorite month of the year, mostly due to the fact that it means Christmas is right around the corner. From the holiday's build-up, fun festivities, delicious treats, awesome gifts and more, I love it all. As corny and cliche as it sounds, I get happier each day as Christmas draws near. There's so much to be excited about that it's hard not to be happy. However, even during the most celebratory times, anything is bound to happen. As I mentioned in my previous Injection of Inspiration blog post, death is inevitable and could happen at any instant, and it seems I spoke too soon. Unfortunately, there was a mass shooting today in my home state of Connecticut that took the lives of more than twenty children. 

First off, what kind of sick-minded, demented person would target children? Upon hearing the news at the end of my school day today, I was absolutely sickened and disgusted. It's always tragic to hear about a violent shooting in the news, but when it happens in your state or somewhere near you, it becomes ten times more frightening. What's worse is that these horrific happenings are becoming more frequent. While they aren't happening daily, there's still been more shootings in the last five years than ever before (or at least to my knowledge). There's some crazy people out there, and I'm not saying that they'll be going away anytime soon (if ever), but rather that we should attempt to avoid these rare occurrences at all costs. Granted, some things just can't be seen coming, but we also learn from these tragedies as well. 

If there's one thing that almost all humans fear, it's death. As sad as it may sound, death is inevitable. That isn't meant to sound depressing whatsoever, but there's no avoiding death. We all go through it at some point, but usually it's later in life. However, death (or any negative occurrence) can happen at any time. Again, that isn't meant to scare you, but this goes back to my previous Injection of Inspiration post as to how you should appreciate everything and everyone you have before they're gone. Why did I choose to write about the topic of death on this day, you ask? Well, today marks the ten-year anniversary of the day I lost someone very close in my family. Granted, I was a mere youngster at the time and didn't realize the full seriousness of the situation until later in life, but I was still heavily affected by it, as was my life. 

One thing I mentioned in my newest novel, Aspire to Inspire, is that at one point, I begged for sympathy from others. I'm not even talking about at the time, but rather years later. I just wanted the attention. I've since realized that was wrong (obviously) and using a family member that passed away years ago as an excuse to get attention was pretty pathetic. That being said, never used a dead love one as a way to garner attention. The sympathy will come organically, not forced. But that's not what I wanted to discuss. After anyone you care for passes away, it's normal to feel sadness. It'd actually be abnormal if you didn't feel sad following a loved one's death. While it's great to reminisce and relive the memories you once shared with that person, you can't their death hold you back. Now, I'm not saying to get over someone's death the very next day, but don't let your sadness get in the way of your own happiness. I'm sure that person wouldn't want to see you sad, even if it's over their passing. They want to see you happy. The healing process takes time, but keep in mind that these kind of experiences are what make you stronger. 

With the month of November finally upon us, that would have to mean that the Thanksgiving holiday is just around the corner. Of course, Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks to your friends, family and everything and everyone you hold dearest. This directly relates to the topic of today's blog: appreciation. Some people lack appreciation for both things and people, and desperately crave things that they don't have and may never have. Instead of appreciating the things they do have such as friends and family that care about them, they complain about things they want rather than need. That being said, there's a blatant difference between wanting something and needing something. Some things that you'll almost always need include food, family, friends, water, and shelter. 

If you didn't get that new game you wanted for Christmas, is that really going to matter when you have no house to live in after it was destroyed in a natural disaster. Speaking of natural disasters, one just recently hit. Of course, I'm referring to Hurricane Sandy. Living the northeast area, I was affected by it, but thankfully not drastically. Despite being surrounded by trees, nothing ever fell down around my house, which was extremely fortune. However, I did lose electricity for about a day, and I can easily tell you that it wasn't fun. I went without power through Monday night (meaning I was unable to watch Raw that night) into Tuesday evening. It could've been way worse, as many people went without power for an entire week. I wasn't able to do much besides read old documents I had saved around my room, and even that was difficult since I barely had any light to do so. Now that my power has been restored, I'm extremely appreciative of the things I usually take for granted, including my internet, cable and, most importantly, electricity. 

With today's wrestling product not as controversial or edgy as it once was, it's common to find people quickly lose interest in watching each week. Of course, there'll always be those group of people who will declare that the Attitude Era was the greatest thing to ever happen to wrestling, and I'm not saying it isn't, but they have to face the facts: it's not coming back. Any attempt to recreate something will not be as good as the original, I can promise you that. A lot of fans today were probably watching back then and are comparing today's product to back then. That's all fine and dandy, but you just have to appreciate wrestling for what it is today. It could be ten times worse. We all complain about what certain companies are doing wrong, but more than likely, there's probably a lot more things they're doing right. What I'm trying to get at is that because wrestling evolved so drastically in the last decade, many fans start to see themselves distance themselves from the product. 

Whether it be because they're no longer interested or just can't allow themselves to watch it, they essentially graduate from being a wrestling fan. I, for one, started watching wrestling back in early 2008 when I was still 12 years old, much later than most fans, so I'll probably be a wrestling fan for longer since I wasn't a fan at the times when it was so different. I once had a good friend (who've I've mentioned countless times before) who had been watching since she was a toddler. She never missed an episode of Raw until 2011 came around, where she only watched a few episodes from time to time. That's another thing. Once you reach your teenage years and beyond, you might not even have time to watch wrestling. Luckily, I do have the time (I know, call me a loser) so I'm able to watch, write, and talk about wrestling. What made me somewhat sad about the whole scenario was that when I first met her, the only thing she ever talked about was one day becoming a WWE Diva. Hell, she even got insulted when I made a crack about the Divas division and she automatically hated me for a week. That's how determined she was on one day working for WWE. 

I did in fact writing something similar to this column awhile back entitled "Forever Alone", but this specific Injection of Inspiration blog post will go a bit more in depth. Following a series of events that recently transpired, I thought it was only appropriate to write a post that was somewhat related to the situation at hand. For those of you who've read my #August18 story that I told on Twitter a few weeks back, you'd know that a girl that I had been talking to about a year ago eventually left me for my best friend. I won't repost the entire story here, but after that occurred, it was pretty much all in the past. I make amends with that best friend a few months later and treated it like nothing had ever happened, but I've hardly talked to that girl G since. The last time we actually spoke was Christmas, so you could tell it's obviously been awhile. 

Anyways, the fair I just happened to meet her at last year is an annual event I attend every year that occurs in a town I used to live in. I notified a few of my friends a few weeks ago that I was going and they said they'd get back to me, but never did. Turns out one of my good friends was at the fair with that girl G, so that came as a bit of a surprise. I'm not at all angry over the fact he's more than likely seeing/talking to a girl I used to like, but more so the fact he lied to me. I've known the kid for years, so that was probably the most shocking aspect about the whole situation. So, that leads me to today's topic: fake friends. We've all had them at some point in our lives. They're simply unavoidable. You'll always have that one friend that either turns their back on you when you least expect it or doesn't turn out who they seem to be. As terrible as that may sound, it's the cold, hard truth. The important thing is attempting to not befriend those sorts of people. 

As the summer season gradually comes to a close and the month of September draws near, that of course signals the start of school yet again. Obviously, going back to school is never the most exciting thing to look forward to, especially when you're coming off a spectacular summer. If your summer wasn't everything you hoped it would be, then maybe school starting up again is a blessing in disguise for you. However, most adolescents despise returning to school, and who can blame them? Homework, tight schedules, and uninteresting classes are usually nothing to look forward to, but complaining about it is a bit unnecessary. One of my biggest frustrations is when people make a major deal about going back to school by whining it about. School starts up at the same time every year, so it's not like you didn't know it was coming. It's inevitable. You probably had a near-two month vacation off from school, so what's there to complain about? 

Returning to school is a nice change of pace. Summer gets boring by late August, or at least for me. I'd much rather go to school to kill time than to be home doing nothing. Sometimes it's not the work that people dread going back to. In my case, it's the classmates I have no intention of mingling with upon seeing them again. Nonetheless, I'll deal with it and avoid those I don't wish to speak with at all costs. I don't have a passion for school, but I don't really mind it either. The faster you finish everything that needs to get done, the faster the school year will fly by. I'm not sure if this applies to anyone else, but my school years always seem to pass me right by. 

Instead of using this week's Injection of Inspiration blog post as motivational advice, I'll be taking this time to address a few things that I've been asked on a consistent basis for months now, and that has to do with my work as a writer. For other aspiring journalists out there who wish to express their passion for passion, I've usually asked the same question: "How can I become a wrestling writer?" Well, I felt the need to address the answer to that popular question in this week's blog post. I didn't always want to be a writer, as I originally wanted to be a teacher when I was little. However, as times changed and I gradually became the pro wrestling fanatic that I am today, I found myself writing more and more about wrestling. 

I started writing for my own website (not this one) in the summer of 2008, and it wasn't until about a year later that I joined WWE Universe, which was WWE's version of Facebook at the time. There, I constructed reviews for each of the shows and expressed my opinions on wrestling there. That site eventually closed down, but before it did, I joined Bleacher Report. I had originally heard about Bleacher Report after reading a few articles on the site as early as January 2010. I applied that May during Memorial Day weekend and was accepted a few days later. There's the first question people ask me. How long does it take for Bleacher Report to get back to you? Well, it only took me a day or two, but it certainly varies. It could take weeks for all I know, but if they don't respond after awhile, then take it as a sign of rejection. However, don't think your writing wasn't good enough for them, because in some cases, even the greatest wrestling writers aren't accepted upon their first entry. 

Today marks the six-month anniversary that I was finally able to experience ultimate happiness and put the past behind me. It had been a long time coming, and it was easily of the best things I had ever done. I had a load of things going on earlier this year that held me back from being happy, but I felt it was time to finally put an end to it all. So, I did just that by using the campaign FINAL.FRIDAY.21012, which signaled that Friday, February 10th, 2011 would be the end of the agony as I knew it. However, said phrase gave some people the wrong idea and automatically assumed I was implying suicide. 

Contrary to the title of this blog and what I've stated thus far, I have never been suicidal or depressed. Sure, I was angry at times, but never to the point where I wanted to hurt myself or anyone else. However, there are those are there who do suffer from depression, and that's completely normal. The real goal is overcoming it. I can't directly because as I just said, I've never been unhappy to the point where I was depressed, but I did come to a point where I knew I needed to alter my mindset and shift my focus in the right direction. Worrying about the past got me nowhere, and it certainly didn't make me any happier. I see this day as an anniversary of my happiness, because I've been able to maintain that happiness on a consistent basis over the last six months. But for those that are depressed, there is a way of avoiding it.