Get off your soapbox!

This is a rant.  Well, no, it's not a rant.  It's a commentary.  No, it's not, actually.  What is it?  It's a blog.  That's it.  At least, I think so.....


OK, in all seriousness, let's get this piece started.


If there was one thing I did a lot, it was rant, rave, comment, criticize, and make my voice and opinion heard about whatever it is I liked, took a shine to, or had a passion for.  If it were wrestling, video games, comics, anime, or whatever, I had to say something about it.  I had to make sure people heard my point of view.  I adopted this mindset from the various people I have met and listened to over the formative years of 2000 to 2014.  I felt it needed to be done to at least keep up with the "Joneses".  I felt that it was imperative to do so, especially when I didn't have many friends to begin with.  So, why not make friends by adopting their interests, mindsets, and approaches to the things they liked?  Well, for starters, it did bring about some pretty bad habits and personal defects that I am looking to purge today.


I got so vehemently defensive about the things I liked that I had to shout it from the rooftops.  If not that, I had to either defend it in as mature a manner as I could.  The problem was that I wasn't being mature about my approach.  I was actually being immature, condescending, narcissistic, arrogant, and downright foolish.    I acted as I saw.  I went with it thinking this was the way to go.  Instead of having a calm and even remotely objective discourse about the subject matter at hand, I flew off the rails and quickly.  I even went so far as to champion this behavior on social media.  Social media was the new stomping ground for this behavior as I have seen.  Looking back, I'm glad I've finally grew out of this stage of my life and matured.  I can only imagine how difficult life would be if I had continued.


First, we have wrestling.  When it came to this form of pop culture, boy did I have a lot to say?  I loved it with so much passion that anything less than what I wanted would be completely and totally uncivilized.  I had to have my cake and eat it, too.  It didn't matter who else was watching.  I had to have it my way.  I would go on to social media and sound off about my issues with wrestling, joining in "trolling" or "flame wars", in hopes to prove I was smarter than who else was involved.  That, ultimately, was the big issue with my love of wrestling:  I tried to be the smartest guy in the room, and in the process, proved I was not the smartest by a long shot. And the things I would complain about...boy, did they run the gamut?


I took to the streets about how much I hated John Cena and how the WWE put him on a pedestal, unjustly.  I also lamented about the WWE's business practices and how they made wrestling look very bleak.  I jumped on the "Trash TNA" bandwagon as well.  If they blew it, I knew enough to point it out all the time.   If Botchamania thought it was funny, I had to agree, right?  ROH was a big disappointment to me after 2011.  I had just about given up on the company, too.  Nothing they did was right.  Everything they did was all wrong.  Then, there was all the writings, postings, and whatnot about "smart marks" and the like.  I was so sure I knew what I was talking about that everyone who fell under this category was just so immature.  I didn't look in the mirror a lot back then.


Then, we have video games.  I was there during the first major console war, where shots were fired almost all the time.  I was always "Pro-Nintendo".  I still am to this day.  But, I always cringed when people took shots at Nintendo.  I cringed when people were right about certain things.  I also got mad when people never admitted the problems of their favorite systems.  It became crystal clear to me that everyone hated Nintendo for one reason or another, as if they greatly disappointed them over the years.  Never mind the fact that they still play the games, they just feel entitled to...whatever.  I joined in on it and didn't stop.  I had to be proven right, or at least tried to navigate my way through the vitriol.  But, Nintendo could do no wrong to me.  That is, up until I wanted to be accepted by my peers.  Then, I had to bash Nintendo.  Then, my peers chose to be contrary to me.  It came to the point where my opinion was lost in the shuffle, almost all the time.  So, I didn't bother to speak up.  I did, however, bother to never purchase a non-Nintendo system for myself and only myself.  If I did have one, it was either given to me or for me and someone else.  Still, in my heart of hearts, Nintendo reigned and no one was going to take that from me.  If they did, I didn't bother to listen.


Movies and television were always a point of contention between me and someone else.  I had to show them that they were wrong about a show being good because of actor A or director B.  I fully adopted that mindset from watching web critics share their very vocal yet minor opinion on movies, television and other forms of pop culture.  It was my new form of entertainment.  I had to watch every episode they put out, so I could formulate an opinion on things I never got to see yet or wanted to see.  Why?  A) So I wouldn't be the "idiot" who watched the stuff if it sucked, B) to save myself from watching the stuff in case it sucked and C) so I could be one with the crowd.  I was quick to change my opinion on many a show, movie or whatever if someone lambasted it.  I didn't want to be the guy fighting for something I liked that everyone else didn't like.  I did that before...and it wasn't fun.  So, if other people didn't have the opinion of these people, I was going to be their messenger and tell them the truth about how lame this movie or that show was.  I had no idea how insufferable I had become.  I'm glad I do now.  I still remember how much time I spent trying to put over "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World".


Music.  Now, this was a doozy, no question.  I used to say how much I hated today's music.  I hated it with a passion.  I couldn't stand it.  I wanted to be in my world of music because at least it was real music.  Yea, I sounded like a codger, and still do about it at times.   But, you know, that's what I like, and I don't want to be turned on to whatever is playing these days.  If there were any bright spots, I championed them...almost all the time.  I did it so much that those who didn't agree with me started to get somewhat sick of it.  I just had to be right.  I just had to.  I've lost a good amount of time and hearing just to turn my music up.  I didn't want to hear what was out there.  And, if you didn't agree with me, I could literally lick my chops in preparation to bite your head off.  And the list goes on....


I've spent a good portion of my life trying to prove that what I liked was best and what I was interested in was the way to go.  If they were ever challenged, I had to defend it.  And it didn't stop there, really.  I had to champion the things I cared about to the point of doing embarrassing things and acting like a total jerk.  It was not attractive or mature.  However, a lot has changed since then.


I now find myself getting off the soapbox, not being so critical, and enjoying what I feel is enjoyable.  I chucked it in the fire and am just enjoying life as it is.  I don't care if wrestling is the way it is, or if video games are the way they are.  I just accept it all, and move on.  That's what life is about: acceptance.  If I like something, that's great.  If someone challenges it, it's OK.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.  I don't need to be the right person in the room, or the smartest.  I just need to be me, who I want to be.  And who I want to be is a happy, down-to-earth, guy with many interests that bring out the positive spirit and energy in me. 


Bye bye, soapbox.  It's been fun, but I outgrew you.  I guess that's what comes with growing up.