By Graham "GSM" Matthews “Your future hasn't been written yet. No one's has. Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one.” -Doc Brown Being the massive "Back to the Future" fan, I had been looking forward to 2015 for quite some time, and by quite some time I mean several years. No, I did not expect us to get flying boards or legitimate hover boards this year. No, I wasn't getting my hopes up for a "Jaws 19." No, I wasn't putting my money on the Cubs to win the World Series (though there's still a chance of that happening...). I joked about all things happening, but my high anticipation for 2015 went far beyond that. To me, 2015 signaled the start of the future. Technically, you can never live in "the future," but metaphorically you can live in the past. 2015 is the start of something new. The beginning of every new year is the perfect time to start anew and set new year resolutions, but truth be told, you can do that at any point during the time. It just takes self-discipline to set them and, more importantly, follow through with it. But 2015 marks the future. It's important to learn from the past and live in the present, but the days of looking forward to the future are over, because it's here. How many times have you said to yourself, "Oh, I'll get to that in the future"? Well, the future is now! By Graham "GSM" Matthews In a nutshell, 2014 was a roller coaster. I first said it right after the passing of one of my biggest inspirations The Ultimate Warrior back in April and I've been saying ever since. Of course, every year will have its ups and downs, but I don't think any other year in recent memory had as highest of highs and lowest of lows as 2014 did, hence why it will go down as one of the most memorable years in the last decade for better or for worse. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a bad year, but I wouldn't consider it a great year, either. For lack of a better term, it was historic. I think we can all agree on that. It feels like just yesterday I was highly anticipating the arrival of 2014. I may have been in the minority, I had high hopes for it. It's safe to say those lofty expectations weren't met. Again, this year wasn't all terrible. It had its moments, both personally, professionally and even from a wrestling standpoint. I hate calling any year a "bad year" because truth be told, it's only as bad as you perceive it to be. For example, if I think 2015 is going to suck, then it will. That's my mindset, anyway. And I'm not the kind of person that has high expectations for things. I set goals for myself, sure, but as optimistic as I am, I'm more of a realist than I am a pessimist. I don't get my hopes up for something that likely won't happen in risk of being disappointed. By Graham "GSM" Matthews Everybody has a passion. It could be a person, or possibly a thing. It's different for everyone. My passion is professional wrestling. Many may see that as hobby or as an "obsession", but it's anything but. I am passionate for professional wrestling. It goes far beyond fandom for me. I want to a living out of it. Not as a wrestler, but as a writer for WWE. I, personally, have never been ridiculed for being a wrestling fan or having a passion for the product, but I definitely know of people that have. It's pathetic, I know, but it happens. One would think those kind of ignorant people are far and few between in 2014, and they are, but they're still out there and it's a shame that some have to deal with them. What they might not realize, however, is that whoever mocks them for having passion for wrestling (or anything that's looked down upon for that matter) doesn't have a passion themselves. It's like bullying. It's often said that bullies only bully others because they themselves feel inferior and need to make other people that way in order to fill that void. This is pretty similar. You won't discover what your passion is from the day you're born. There's no one point you have a revelation as to what you're passion is. For some, it takes longer than others, but you have to keep in mind that you'll find it eventually. It just takes time, and more importantly, patience. It isn't uncommon for people without a passion to pick on people who do have one, regardless of how "stupid" it may seem. By Graham "GSM" Matthews When the lights went out at the end of last Sunday's WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view (intentionally, of course, as it signaled the return of Bray Wyatt), it was probably the most perfectly fitting conclusion to that week. Only mere days earlier were we without power here on my college campus. It was the result of a brutal storm we got on Wednesday night that I assumed wouldn't do much damage if any at all. I mean, we've experienced far worse in the last year that I've been here, including a snow storm that nearly prevented me from doing me from doing my radio show that night (the snow must go on...)! Thus, it came as a bit of a surprise when on Wednesday night, the whole campus lost power. Two emotions came over me at that moment. At first, it was excitement. How often was it that you were going to experience something like this? Sure, the power goes out all the time when you're home and with the flip of a switch it's back on, but this was different. An entire campus was without power. Your dorm, the hallways, everything was pitch black. You couldn't see a single thing, and while that could be a terrifying thought for some, it was exciting for me. I was also worried I'd miss that night's episode of TNA Impact Wrestling, but I figured that if the power didn't go back on by the time the show aired in an hour, I would just watch it the next day. No big deal. By Graham "GSM" Matthews If you asked me a couple of years ago what my favorite season of the year was, I would have said winter. I love the snow, Christmas time, drinking hot chocolate (though I drink it year round anyway) and everything that comes along with the winter season, but as years passed, I grew to resent it. Summer slowly became my favorite time of the year, solely because it granted me time off from school and allowed me to do anything I wanted without any time restrictions. That changed this past summer when I started working. I'm not going to complain because the weekly paychecks made it worthwhile, but the inconsistent hours made the summer a drag and easily one of the most lackluster summer "vacations" I've had in some time. That "light at the end of the tunnel" so to speak was coming back to college in September. You might be thinking to yourself, "Wait, he'd rather be at school than at home?" It sounds strange, I know, but not as strange as you might think. Also, keep in mind that I don't drink, smoke or do drugs. I didn't want to "escape" to the college environment because there wouldn't be any rules. I simply feel more in comfort zone at college where I don't have to rely on anyone. While many kids dread going back to school every September (or August for most), I look forward to it. I realize that it's different for middle/high school students and college students since it's a completely different atmosphere, but even when I was in middle/high school I never complained about going back. You know it's going to happen, so why whine? |
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