Post by Anthony Bailey on Dec 13, 2011 15:41:12 GMT -4
All are born with the inclination to be seen and heard. The freedoms granted by our constitution’s first amendment are rarely seen as important unless they are threatened. This view was validated on September 11th, 2001 and for the first time in my young life, the reality of individuals wanting to impose on my freedom hit me. Why can’t they just let us live? I just want to be seen…..I just want be to heard….
{{The scene opens to the front of a nice townhouse in an undisclosed location. The early afternoon day is warm and sunny. The peaceful neighborhood accents the gorgeous day as a few children are seen riding their bikes on the sidewalk and some adults are spotted walking their dogs. APW newcomer Anthony "The Promise" Bailey is seated on a chair in a relaxed position in front of the townhouse facing the camera with a cheerful facial expression. Bailey, wearing a plain white T-shirt, blue jeans, and red and black midtop Nike's, slowly begins to speak.}}
Anthony "The Promise" Bailey: I cannot believe that this moment, the moment that I have impatiently waited for, is finally here. Long gone are the days of sitting in the Sun Dome with my father watching my favorite superstars from afar. Long gone are the days of sitting at home watching televised events week in and week out and bugging my mom to order pay per views at the end of month and imagining myself on that widescreen one day being applauded and cheered on by thousands of screaming fans. I now have the opportunity to be right where they were; the opportunity to do what I feel I was called to do. This all still seems too good to be true. I just feel like…I don’t know, I just feel like I’m having the best dream ever and I don’t want to wake up.
For so long, I was bamboozled into thinking that my calling in life was to slave away in some cubicle making a high salary until I reached retirement age. Now don’t get me wrong, the salary was never my main issue because who in their right mind wouldn’t want to live comfortably? Especially given the current economic climate here in America. But my issue was never about the money, because honestly, I’ve never had to endure financial hardships growing up. It’s good in one sense because God’s grace has been evident in my life and His provision of granting my mother with a lucrative and stable career was a blessing for us. But on the other hand, I can’t sympathize with my fellow peers who have lost jobs or foreclosed on their homes and that’s very unfortunate. But what can you do? The past can’t be undone and I just have to learn to accept things as they are.
But then again, acceptance doesn’t cause my psyche to surrender so easily and wave the white flag. The battle within me continues to rage because I want to represent the people, your every day average working class American, with the platform that I’ll gain from professional wrestling. I want to compete, win matches, and win championship belts for their sake, not my own. That’s the whole reason why I’m even doing this. My marketing degree would have only provided opportunities for my own sake and I refuse to live my life like that. People have always tried to pressure me into doing things or put me in a box and I don’t know why. Maybe being raised in the suburbs has caused me to don some imaginary "pushover" label that I am unaware of. I might be a compassionate and friendly guy, but trust me when I tell you; I am far from a pushover. Had I let others define my life, I’d currently either be in the NBA or working for a marketing firm. Those are great career choices, but for me? This sport is where I belong. I don’t mind the house on the hills or the car that has the letter B on the wheel, but if I obtain that doing something that I despise, then I have failed…
{{Bailey leans forward in the chair resting his elbows on his thighs and interlocking his fingers.}}
I can hear them now…"Don’t let this business change you, kid" is what a few of the guys over in FAWA always make sure to remind me of. Back to my first day of ever volunteering with them until now, when the ink on my APW contract just virtually dried, they constantly remind me of this. They say that a large portion of young men and women enter into this business with good intentions, but over the course of time, things like morals and values begin to deteriorate. Though they see something different in me, they remind me that I’m not above reproach and that I can easily fall into this trap as well. What a privilege it has been to sit at the feet of such wise men that I greatly respect. I need men like them around me to guide me and keep me grounded. My morals and values have been my compass in my twenty-one years on this earth and how tragic it would be to lose them after all this time. That would be the beginning of my end.
At the end of the day, I’m just a kid from Tampa, Florida who had a great childhood and who loves the sport of professional wrestling. More importantly, I’m just a kid from Tampa with a dream. Some around here might still see me as a kid because I’m one of the youngest competitors on the roster. I’ve disappointed some of my friends and family with the career choice I’ve made. I’ve probably disappointed some of my fellow APW superstars because in their eyes "President Jeff has no business signing a scrawny little rookie who couldn’t wrestle his way out of a wet paper bag." I’ll even disappoint myself from time to time because I’m not perfect, but one guarantee that I can make to everybody watching currently or to everybody who’ll watch this once it’s been uploaded to YouTube, is that I vow to give my blood, sweat, and tears to this thing. I just want to be seen and heard because I’ve got a story to tell. It might not be the greatest story known to mankind but it is a story nonetheless.
I appreciate you all taking the time to hear me out. I look forward to growing with you and becoming the best wrestler that I possibly can right before your very eyes. I ask that you please be patient with me. I’m still very young and I still have a lot of learn inside the ring and outside of it as well. Well that does it for me, take care everybody…
{{Bailey repositions himself in the chair and smiles as the scene fades to black.}}
{{The scene opens to the front of a nice townhouse in an undisclosed location. The early afternoon day is warm and sunny. The peaceful neighborhood accents the gorgeous day as a few children are seen riding their bikes on the sidewalk and some adults are spotted walking their dogs. APW newcomer Anthony "The Promise" Bailey is seated on a chair in a relaxed position in front of the townhouse facing the camera with a cheerful facial expression. Bailey, wearing a plain white T-shirt, blue jeans, and red and black midtop Nike's, slowly begins to speak.}}
Anthony "The Promise" Bailey: I cannot believe that this moment, the moment that I have impatiently waited for, is finally here. Long gone are the days of sitting in the Sun Dome with my father watching my favorite superstars from afar. Long gone are the days of sitting at home watching televised events week in and week out and bugging my mom to order pay per views at the end of month and imagining myself on that widescreen one day being applauded and cheered on by thousands of screaming fans. I now have the opportunity to be right where they were; the opportunity to do what I feel I was called to do. This all still seems too good to be true. I just feel like…I don’t know, I just feel like I’m having the best dream ever and I don’t want to wake up.
For so long, I was bamboozled into thinking that my calling in life was to slave away in some cubicle making a high salary until I reached retirement age. Now don’t get me wrong, the salary was never my main issue because who in their right mind wouldn’t want to live comfortably? Especially given the current economic climate here in America. But my issue was never about the money, because honestly, I’ve never had to endure financial hardships growing up. It’s good in one sense because God’s grace has been evident in my life and His provision of granting my mother with a lucrative and stable career was a blessing for us. But on the other hand, I can’t sympathize with my fellow peers who have lost jobs or foreclosed on their homes and that’s very unfortunate. But what can you do? The past can’t be undone and I just have to learn to accept things as they are.
But then again, acceptance doesn’t cause my psyche to surrender so easily and wave the white flag. The battle within me continues to rage because I want to represent the people, your every day average working class American, with the platform that I’ll gain from professional wrestling. I want to compete, win matches, and win championship belts for their sake, not my own. That’s the whole reason why I’m even doing this. My marketing degree would have only provided opportunities for my own sake and I refuse to live my life like that. People have always tried to pressure me into doing things or put me in a box and I don’t know why. Maybe being raised in the suburbs has caused me to don some imaginary "pushover" label that I am unaware of. I might be a compassionate and friendly guy, but trust me when I tell you; I am far from a pushover. Had I let others define my life, I’d currently either be in the NBA or working for a marketing firm. Those are great career choices, but for me? This sport is where I belong. I don’t mind the house on the hills or the car that has the letter B on the wheel, but if I obtain that doing something that I despise, then I have failed…
{{Bailey leans forward in the chair resting his elbows on his thighs and interlocking his fingers.}}
I can hear them now…"Don’t let this business change you, kid" is what a few of the guys over in FAWA always make sure to remind me of. Back to my first day of ever volunteering with them until now, when the ink on my APW contract just virtually dried, they constantly remind me of this. They say that a large portion of young men and women enter into this business with good intentions, but over the course of time, things like morals and values begin to deteriorate. Though they see something different in me, they remind me that I’m not above reproach and that I can easily fall into this trap as well. What a privilege it has been to sit at the feet of such wise men that I greatly respect. I need men like them around me to guide me and keep me grounded. My morals and values have been my compass in my twenty-one years on this earth and how tragic it would be to lose them after all this time. That would be the beginning of my end.
At the end of the day, I’m just a kid from Tampa, Florida who had a great childhood and who loves the sport of professional wrestling. More importantly, I’m just a kid from Tampa with a dream. Some around here might still see me as a kid because I’m one of the youngest competitors on the roster. I’ve disappointed some of my friends and family with the career choice I’ve made. I’ve probably disappointed some of my fellow APW superstars because in their eyes "President Jeff has no business signing a scrawny little rookie who couldn’t wrestle his way out of a wet paper bag." I’ll even disappoint myself from time to time because I’m not perfect, but one guarantee that I can make to everybody watching currently or to everybody who’ll watch this once it’s been uploaded to YouTube, is that I vow to give my blood, sweat, and tears to this thing. I just want to be seen and heard because I’ve got a story to tell. It might not be the greatest story known to mankind but it is a story nonetheless.
I appreciate you all taking the time to hear me out. I look forward to growing with you and becoming the best wrestler that I possibly can right before your very eyes. I ask that you please be patient with me. I’m still very young and I still have a lot of learn inside the ring and outside of it as well. Well that does it for me, take care everybody…
{{Bailey repositions himself in the chair and smiles as the scene fades to black.}}
