Maybe we don’t own trophies to prove it, but we all are champions. Many of you probably think I am crazy for saying so, because what is a champion, if they haven’t won anything, right? This is true,  I mean normally a champion wins something, but when I talk about the word champion, I don’t mean winning a Gold medal or first place trophy, I mean we all do something that makes us a champion. Some of us may not always be champions, sure we make mistakes, we fuck up, we land flat on our faces sometimes and complain about it. It isn’t the fuck up that we should be judged for, it’s what we do after the fuck up that makes most of us champions, it is what we do when doors are closed and no one is watching, it is the smile you put on someone’s face without trying, it is the dollar you gave without asking them why, it is the drive you make in order to see a loved one, it is the gift you bought while you were struggling, it is the courage you had when the world was against you, it is the change you made to save your marriage, it’s the story you told to spread awareness, it is the life you saved without mentioning, it is the fight you gave during your battle of cancer, it is the tears you cried watching a loved one die, it is the promise you kept when everything fell apart, is the friendship you gave someone, the last dollar in your pocket you spent on someone else, the last goodbye, etc. 

See, athletes are used to being champions in front of a large crowd,  I would know, I was an athlete all my life, we are used to being applauded for our wins, our triumphs, our records, our pristine smile in front of cameras. The world calls you a good person, the world thinks of you being a good role model, being a good child, a good sibling, a good parent all BECAUSE you do a good job at your event or sport. God forbid you are a horrible at your event and/or sport, now the world will think of you as a loser, you suck, we don’t care about you, now your smile is meaningless, your parenting skills go unseen and you no longer have their attention. The sad fact is we all want to be validated for something good we have done, we look for someone to tell us “good job”, “you are awesome”, “that was amazing”, “I want to be just like you when I grow up”, etc. because we put on this face in front of people and make people believe that what we do in the light is what we do in the dark.  O.J Simpson is a good example of this, he was an amazing athlete during his time and people loved and adored him, all of a sudden his wife is murdered and he faces trial and no one wants to believe he killed her because he was a “good” person on camera, during games, at practice, at the park with his son, so how could he kill his wife? He was made out to be this teddy bear and lovable person, but what he did behind closed doors, the camera couldn’t see.  He knew what he did behind closed doors and he knew what the public seen of him, he chose to make bad decisions (in my opinion) behind closed doors, therefore he is a fraud; he only made good decisions when he got something out of it. This is no different than talking badly about a friend of yours then going to hang out with this same person after talking bad about him/her; you’re fraud because your actions done in the light don’t match what is done in the dark. 

I am not saying we don’t make mistakes, because we do and we all have a past. The difference is some people change in order to do better, and some people stay complacent. The world only sees what we show, what we don’t show is what makes someone a champion if it is the right thing to do. You don’t need lights, camera, action to be a champion, you don’t need a trophy, a medal, a certificate, or tons of friends, all you need is a good heart and good intentions. “What you do in the dark will come to light when you least expect it” -Shay-lon Moss