When I was a kid, the WWE (at the time it was known as the WWF) was my life. Ever since watching my first episode of Monday Night Raw when I was four years old, I was hooked. The adrenaline I get from watching the action, heartache and drama of the show is a drug that cannot be replaced for me. Like the millions (and millions) of other WWE fans, I cried when Eddie Guerrero died and I cheer every time that DX enters the arena. There are so many amazing and talented superstars that grace the Sports Entertainment business, but to me there is one that soars (quite literally) above all others. I speak of course of the Charismatic Enigma, Jeff Hardy.
Since his rise to fame in 1998, Jeff and his older brother Matt have ruled the WWE as the unstoppable duo, The Hardy Boyz. The brothers had a major part in revolutionizing the tag team division, being part of the very first tag-team ladder match as well as the famous tag team TLC -(tables, ladders, and chairs) match. He and his brother are multiple tag team champions and Jeff also has quite a few singles belts including the Intercontinental, Hardcore and World Heavyweight championships. But to me, Jeff is more than just a wrestler; he is a hero and an inspiration. Many don’t know this but Jeff is a multi-talented individual. In addition to his prestigious wrestling career, he is also an accomplished artist, poet, Moto- X rider and a musician. He is world renown for always pushing the limits and marching to the beat of his own drum. His motto of “Fly High, Fly Fearless” is a saying that I keep very near to my own heart. I have always looked up the Jeff, but as I get older, I see that he and I have a lot more in common than it would seem. He and his brother lost their mother at a very young age. I tragically lost my mother earlier this month. Jeff had always said that everything he does, he does in honor of his mom, that she would support him. It is that same mentality that I look at my life when I remember the love and support that my mother has given me these past 18 years. It is because of this drive that Jeff Hardy has never listened to the voices that told him no and never conformed to the way society says we should act. He has always done things his own ways( several times this being a reckless and dare-devil way) and all the while he has kept his head held high and face adversity head-on. Jeff, like all of us, however is still human, with problems and fears. Just last year while on the road at a Raw show, his house and recording studio caught fire, destroying his home and his recordings as well as claiming the life of his beloved Russell Terrier, Jack. Through it all, however he never gave up and never asked for pity, he kept on with his head held high and when on to finally accomplish his childhood dream of becoming World Heavyweight Champion ship for the first time in December 2008.
To me Jeff Hardy is an example on how to live my life. I will continue my budding writing career, despite those that say I can’t make and I will do it my way and by my rules. I will honor my mother’s memory by doing something that makes me happy and that helps people and above all else, doing something that makes her proud. Like Jeff, I will be a beacon to people who like me aren’t what the rest of the world would call normal. Even the freaks and outcasts need a hero, I will be that man. I’ll do all these things to shine light on those lost in darkness, it is my hope that through my books and poems, my words will uplift and inspire the next generation of reckless rejects who will change the world by never giving up and maybe one day through Jeff Hardy and the people like me who follow after him, we can teach the world to “Fly High and Fly Fearless”!