I am Me

Dear Molly,

     So you've spent time brooding. And moping. And mourning for the things that could've been (of which there are plenty). You know you have internal pessimistic tendencies. Heck, you even have a shirt with a picture of an old-fashioned camera and the words "Don't Be Negative", undoubtedly advice you should follow more often. But now is not the time for that. It's time to be grateful for what you do have.

     You survived your first semester of college, with less than stellar grades, but that's not the point. The point is that you didn't fail. It's been lonely, sure. Just gotta keep remembering all the money you're saving by living at home.

     The point is that you mostly like yourself for who you are.
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      Awhile back, I responded to a Facebook post from someone whom I think of as a close acquaintance. (Is that a thing? I take it to mean somebody whom you've only met once, but discovered you had a lot in common.)

     The post went: If literally no one wants me around, why am I here?

     Me: I recently decided to go about life under the impression that people don't like me and save myself from a lot of heartbreak.

INTERUPTION:

     I used to go about life naïvely thinking that I was well-liked by just about everyone. I know it's stupid to care about it, but social media and finishing high school have made me doubt that. The sheer number of people who have blocked me and/or stopped communicating with me makes me feel hurt. What did I do wrong? And then I remember that the connection between my brain and my mouth is faulty what feels like more often than not. I really should get a pacifier shaped like a foot so I can literally put my foot in my mouth. And after that, my heart starts to shatter into a million little pieces and the hurt continues to increase. Exponentially. If I could help it, I would have never hurt a flea. But it's too late. Words cut deep, and I know I can be completely brutal without meaning to be.

     Me, continued: I guess the reason we're here is to touch the lives of the people who care about us unconditionally.

     Her: Well said.

     Me: Thanks. It means a lot
.

     Her: So does the fact that you even responded.

     And I'd like to think I've done just that, touched the life of a person or two.

                              
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     One good quality that you do have is that you're authentic.

     To quote yearbook signatures, birthday greetings via Facebook, and text messages: You are "wonderful, don't forget it" and "so fantastic".

     You're "unapologetically quirky" and "true to yourself" and "Truly one of a kind...genuine, sweet, and bright".

     Even though you're singing your own praises, so to speak, it feels good that these last three came from people who have never met.

     You have a "unique way of thinking", and are "friendly and honest", not mention "great and understanding".

     "You are funny and intelligent, and I always have such great conversations with you."

     "You're so interestingly inquisitive, happily positive, and always bring a smile to people."

     You miss all of these people quite a bit. Fine, a lot.

     You love with your whole heart. In a Girl Scout activity devoted to disproving stereotypes, you wrote that you are "passionate but friendly."

     But with all that love comes some hate. You have a tendency to hold grudges. (Mrs. Bhatia and Mr. Maxson, I'm looking at you. People can be really horrible.) The world isn't there to hurt you, but it feels that way sometimes. And then your thoughts unconsciously turn to "Why me?" What did I do to deserve mental illness? Nothing. No one deserves it.

     Mental illness is an equal opportunity offender. It will strike anyone.

     In fact, your mom even had the idea to create a mental, caricature of a cartoon representation of depression. Pat is a great big ugly monster with yellow teeth, stringy, scraggly, unwashed hair, ripped clothes, and the like. Pat has slowed you down, but not stopped you.

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     I've come a long way since I started this blog more than three and a half years ago. I've been knocked down, but I've gained the inner strength to get back up. I'm grateful I had the foresight to do a blog rather than a handwritten journal. Sharing my story has been and will continue to be therapeutic.
Overall, at the end of the day, my life is like a marble cake, a rubber band ball, or a jigsaw puzzle. There are good parts and bad parts of my history, but they all come together to make something beautiful.

Song of the Day: Ordinary Human by OneRepublic

     This song gets way less credit than it deserves. The Giver was actually a great movie; and in your humble opinion, Ordinary Human should have beaten out Let it Go for the Best Original Song Oscar. Alas, it wasn't even nominated.

     Anyway, Ryan Tedder is a brilliant songwriter and under-appreciated genius.

     It's true. You're an average, everyday, ordinary human cursed/gifted with unusually sharp introspectiveness. But it causes you to be compassionate. And yes, you sometimes medicate, with a prescription, but that's a story for another day.

     There's been a switch in your vein and the shadows scream your name.

Today I took a walk in the clouds
Today I took a walk in the clouds
Used to keep my eyes wide shut
But now I'm staring down

Today I felt a switch in my vein
Today I felt a switch in my vein
Used to be a shadow
Now the shadows scream my name
And in the daylight I could swear
We’re the same

But I’m just an ordinary human
(Ordinary ways)
I’m just an ordinary human
But I don’t feel so ordinary today

I’m just your picture perfect nothing
Sometimes I medicate
I’ll be a picture perfect human
Before the sun goes down today

Today I felt a switch in my vein
Today I made them all afraid
Used to be a shadow
Now the shadows scream my name
And in the daylight I could swear
We’re the same

But I’m just an ordinary human
(Ordinary ways)
I’m just an ordinary human
But I don’t feel so ordinary today

I’m just a picture perfect nothing
Sometimes I medicate
I’ll be a picture perfect human
Before the sun goes down today

Just an ordinary human
But I don't feel so typical, no, today

There'll be peace in the city tonight
Peace in the city tonight
But when I'm gone
I hope they get it right

There'll be peace in the city tonight
Peace in the city tonight
For when I'm gone
I hope they get it right

Just an ordinary human
(Ordinary ways)
I'm ordinary human
I don't feel so ordinary today

But when I'm gone
I hope they get it right...

Love, Molly

Something Lighthearted

      Enough with the profound stuff. Time for something fun. And hopefully something to spark a conversation or two to turn acquaintances into friends. 

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30 Little-Known Facts About Myself/Things That Are Somewhat Unusual About Me

1. A lot of people love the smell of fresh-cut grass, but it makes me gag and even dry heave.

2. I've wanted a pet lizard since I was six. But we got our dog when I was ten, and I don't think she'd be too welcoming to a reptile.

3. Most people are right-eye or left-eye dominant, but I'm eye ambidextrous. Yet I can't wink with my right eye.

4. I loved, loved, loved the color yellow as a toddler.

5. Harebrained ideas from my past include participating in marching band, playing water polo, and being a cheerleader.

6. I don't like mustard or mayonnaise on my sandwiches. I've eaten enough dry turkey sandwiches in my lifetime for two people.

7. I named both my sister (Samantha) and our dog (Pippi).

8. I was very proud of my 10:38 mile time in eighth grade.

9. In middle school my favorite subjects were English and science. My favorite part of  math was word problems. I haven't met too many like minded people with those...

10. I won a holiday card contest for the children of Long Beach Transit employees in elementary school. The $50 Toys R Us giftcard was the best part.

11. I didn't like NFTY at first, but now I miss it a lot.

12. I'm not a cat person. All dogs, all the time.

13. I've never broken a bone, despite being extremely klutzy. Burn and tripping scars to prove it. I like to say that the closest I've come to breaking a bone was when kindergarten Molly was jumping on the couch while wearing a charm bracelet and sliced her palm upon it. The resulting cloth bandage looked a little like a cast.

14. I have a 250-strong collection of unsharpened pencils, all with different patterns. I started this collection when I was five. I even displayed some at the local library.

15. I got my first pair of glasses a month after I turned eight. I tried contacts once at the eye doctor, and I could take them out but not put them in.

16. In preschool I wanted to be an artist. The only problem is that my drawing skills are exceedingly limited. I'd like to think that I do have a good eye for color.

17. My favorite words are alas, salutations, and indeed.

18. I would eat ice cream for every meal if I had super-human metabolism.

19. In elementary school, I was the last violinist standing (As in the only one who came back for the second year, fourth grade). I switched to cello at the end of ninth grade, and have never looked back. I love my cello buddies.

20. I am the sentimentalist of the family. But I promise I'm not a hoarder. I just have pack rat tendencies.

21. My guilty pleasures are game shows (Jeopardy! in particular), Pop Tarts , and Forensic Files. I try not to indulge all three on the same day...

22. My one moment of athletic glory in middle school was being goalie in team handball, in which I stopped many goals and got bruises from the red rubber ball. Of course the paradoxically overweight PE teacher accused me of not participating when in reality I was the only person willing to be goalie. I got my first B in that class. My only other athletic glory has come from ice skating. I'm less of a klutz on ice skates than on two feet, oddly enough.

23. The best year of my life in memory, strangely enough, was the year I was 12. Those were the days...

24. As far as I know, my family is 100% Eastern European, on both sides. Three of my great-grandparents were born in Russia and one was born in Lithuania.

25. I've never been to Universal Studios, but I am a Harry Potter aficionado, and really want to visit! I am a Ravenclaw with a sprinkle of Hufflepuff.

26. I've never seen anyone grip a pencil/pen (or a fork) the way I do. My sister also has an unusual grip, but it's not the same as mine. I prefer wooden pencils over mechanical because mechanical break on me too much.

27. The first movie I saw in theaters was Monsters, Inc. I've been a Pixar fan ever since. My family even went to "Pixar in Concert" at the Hollywood Bowl.

28. I would never name my own kid Molly, but I suppose I've grown into it. It's used for dogs more than humans, and people can poke fun it. Unless they love it. I don't like being called Mol. M is okay. I like being called Mariana in Spanish class. (Molly does not translate well into Spanish.)

29. I love the diversity of Long Beach.

30. I am a gigantic contradiction. I'm quiet but talkative, sunny but with depressive tendencies...
And not ashamed to admit it.

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      So, there ya have it, 30+ factoids about me. Reader: make my day and let me know if any of these surprised you. Even better: share a few of your own.

Love, Molly

Confessions of a College Student Who Doesn't Feel Like One

Dear Molly,

     Well, wow. Good golly. When you began this blogging adventure 3 years, 1 month, 3 weeks, and 3 days ago, you never thought this day would come. You're an 'adult' in college.   Depression has a way of slowing down time. The hell hole that was 2014 moved at the speed of Molasses in the Winter.

     In September 2013, you had this grand plan of becoming a cognitive scientist. You thought you wanted to go to a fancy private university, become a researcher, and unlock secrets of human behavior. And that plan dwindled with fury. You learned that you cannot stand to be around spoiled, rich, or snobby kids. Then you realized that while your intellectual curiosity is as strong as ever, you simply don't have the patience to do lab reports and things of that nature.They started to fall under the category of "Why bother?".

     Luckily, through time at AbilityFirst and joining two groups of Best Buddies, you learned that helping other people improve is your passion, your absolute favorite thing to do. You have a plan, and a definite path you're on.

     Well, college. It's weird having all this independence. But that doesn't detract from the reality that you're at your last choice of college because scholarships may help with tuition but involve sky-high costs of living. College ain't cheap. A family that's strapped for cash is not a pleasant family. And there's also a fatal lack of trust from the 'rents. Pleads of "What happened once won't happen again" don't fly. Sadly.

     The worst part of college is the constant boredom and loneliness. You have a two and a half hour break in the morning and an hour break in the afternoon, and never know what to do with yourself, besides attempting to focus on studying, and stare off into space and zone out. Ugh. And the loneliness. Sure, you see people in class, but you miss high school when you actually saw your friends on a regular, consistent basis. And the jealousy of seemingly everyone who gets to live somewhere besides at home at first choice colleges is raging on a daily basis.

     The best part about college is the classes. It's definitely weird not having math and English. But Spanish is going well, Sociology is enjoyable, you're slowly becoming better at tap dancing, and in spite of a not-so-great professor, Scientific and Spatial Reasoning is relatively interesting.

     Back to the part about not feeling like a college student: your life is really no different. You might go to a different school, but you're still living at home, with your parents to monitor your every move. But maybe that will get better in time. 

Love, Molly

Song of the day:
Future Looks Good by OneRepublic

Although the present kinda sucks, hope for a better future continues to make you get up and kick your own ass every single day.

Woke up starin' at this, starin' at this empty room
Looked at thousand different pictures that your mother took of you
You see I had this crazy dream last night, this man he talked to me
He told me everything that's good and bad about my history

But he said that you are, you are the future
He said that you are, you are the future
And the future looks good
The future looks good

Oh, call me anytime that every time you're losin' it
And tell me anyone and everyone who makes you feel like shit
Because you know anybody, everybody else can lie
But honey I won't see you with a, see you with a broken set of eyes

I swear that you are, you are the future
I swear that you are, you are the future
And the future looks good
Oh, yeah
The future looks good
Oh, yeah

The future looks good
Oh, yeah
The future looks good
Oh, yeah

You, you, you
You, you, you

Woke up starin' at this, starin' at this empty room
Looked at thousand different pictures that your mother took of you

The Road I'll Travel

Dear Molly,

     Wow. High school is over. 13 years of public school later. 13 years ago, you were a sunny 5 year-old who loved to watch PBS Kids, be read to, dance and couldn't wait to start kindergarten. 7 years ago, you were 11. You were busy taking violin lessons, going to ice skating class, reading voraciously, and eagerly awaiting middle school. 4 years ago, you were geared up to begin a new chapter in your life.

     3 years ago, your life as you knew it began to fall apart. 2 years ago, you were bored to tears in Summer School. Last year, you learned that life is all about taking matters into your own hands. You were hit with a startling realization: my future belongs to me. You're not going to let anyone else make bad decisions on your behalf. Last August, you were about to start senior year.

   Your parents tried to persuade you to stay at Millikan, but you knew you couldn't do it. You were lonely, withdrawn, and let self doubt get the best of you. You needed to do what you knew would be better, however marginally; transferring back to Poly to finish out your high school career And it was.

      You got your first A in English since 8th grade, and passed the AP Literature test. You won your first ever math award. You played cello and had to work to enjoy it. And you met so many great people through orchestra who you're so proud to call you're friends. You dropped AP Spanish at the 4th quarter because you flat out couldn't keep up. You realized that content wise, you were a full year behind your classmates. But that's not going to stop you from reaching your goal of being bilingual. Achieving fluency is something you're doing for you.

       You're learning your place in this world. You're learning even more about yourself. You're learning that people can be real @$$#%$ (pardon the typographical swear). You're learning what makes you happy. You like being optimistic and bringing joy to others. You love to smile, live to laugh, and will never turn down a hug. For the most part, you're proud of who you are. You refused to let circumstances get the best of you. You're not proud of how you were stubborn and let your pride get in the way.

     You're less than a week away from starting college. You turned 18 last Saturday. Today you got to sign my first ever medical release form, the real marker of being an adult. It's not merely the beginning of a different chapter; it's a whole new book. Consider it the latest volume in "The Book of Life": The Young Adulthood of Molly. It's a path you have in front of you, a road with a destination I you'll hopefully soon discover.

 Song of the Day: Magic by Trad and Anon

     You learned this song many years ago at Camp Scherman. You went to this amazing Girl Scout Overnight camp from the summer before 4th grade to the summer before 10th grade, despite thoughts and endorsements for Jewish Camp and Music Camp. But you found myself going back year after year. You'll definitely going to be a counselor if they will hire you! This song reminds you that there is still beauty in this world, and always will be.

When I was young, I thought the stars were made for wishing on,
And every hole deep in a tree must hide a leprechaun.
Old houses all had secret rooms if one could find the door,
But who believes in magic, anymore?

Magic is the sun that makes a rainbow out of rain,
And magic keeps the dream alive to try and try again.
Magic is the love that stays when good friends have to leave,
I do believe in magic, I believe.

Growing up the grown-ups said one day I'd wake to find,
That magic's just a childhood dream I'd have to leave behind.
Like clothes that would no longer fit and toys that I'd ignore,
I'd not believe in magic any more.

Magic is the sun that makes a rainbow out of rain,

And magic keeps the dream alive to try and try again.
Magic is the love that stays when good friends have to leave,
I do believe in magic, I believe.

When I grew up I learned again that much to my surprise,
The magic did not fade away- it took a new disguise.
A child, a friend, a smile, a song, the courage to stand tall,
I do believe in magic after all.

Magic is the sun that makes a rainbow out of rain,

And magic keeps the dream alive to try and try again.
Magic is the love that stays when good friends have to leave,
I do believe in magic, and love's the greatest magic, 

I do believe in magic, I believe.

Love, Molly




   

Moving On

Dear Molly,

      So. You're almost done with senior year. Wow. My goodness. Oh Jeepers(Sorry Addie). There's a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. But another one is fast approaching.

C O L L E G E. Yikes.

      Check Facebook and you'll see you were accepted at schools in far flung places: Northern California, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas...

       And yet there is no drum roll. The four walls that have been yours since negative 2 months of age (true) will be yours for at least another year. Eagle to Hawk to Jackrabbit to Ram back to Jackrabbit to 49er. CSULB. Go Beach! Maybe.

      It's hard not to feel jealous of everyone who is going to x place. I guess now you're the green-eyed monster. (Who came up with that phrase anyway? As a jade-eyed kid, you're offended. But you digress.) You've been talking to your munchkin friends who are no longer munchkins as they are all teenagers, and most understand the tough position. You hang around the geniuses, feel like a slacker, and will say, "I knew her/him when." You hang around average or below people, are treated like a visiting dignitary, and get depressed. And the cycle repeats.

      But you're still standing. You will go places in life, to college for Music Therapy and beyond. To infinity, and beyond.

Song of the Day:

It's Time by Imagine Dragons

It's true. You're spent and need to build yourself up and not look back and not let anyone down and never change who I am. But you would like to temporarily leave this town. Only to eventually return.

So this is what you meant
When you said that you were spent
And now it's time to build from the bottom of the pit, right to the top
Don't hold back
Packing my bags and giving the Academy a rain check

I don't ever want to let you down
I don't ever want to leave this town
Cause after all
This city never sleeps at night

It's time to begin, isn't it?
I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit
I'm just the same as I was
Now don't you understand
I'm never changing who I am

So this is where you fell
And I am left to sell
The path to heaven runs through miles of clouded hell right to the top
Don't look back
Turning to rags and giving the commodities a rain check

I don't ever want to let you down
I don't ever want to leave this town
Cause after all
This city never sleeps at night

It's time to begin, isn't it?
I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit
I'm just the same as I was
Now don't you understand
I'm never changing who I am

This road never looked so lonely

This house doesn't burn down slowly

To ashes
To ashes

It's time to begin, isn't it?
I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit
I'm just the same as I was
Now don't you understand
I'm never changing who I am

Here I Am

Dear Molly,
Wow. You're a senior. How the heck did that happen? 17. Seriously? Kindergarten at Emerson was 13 years ago. Yikes.

Also, fighting tooth and nail, you're back at Poly. Rock the Green and Gold. Not in PACE, but 4 AP classes suit you just fine. It's a tough schedule. AP English Literature, AP Biology, AP Music Theory, AP Spanish Language, Finite Math, and Orchestra. Thank goodness for an orchestra class that doesn't put you to sleep. (True. Falling asleep on a cello is no simple task, but something you managed to do at Millikan.)

You've applied to colleges, and are forced to think about the future. But thinking about the future forces you to remember the past. How far you've come. From a smiley little kid, to a successful student, to a miserable ball of sadness and even despair. To a teenager with a bright future ahead of her. A person who was a victim of awful circumstances who somehow managed to triumph over them.

So here you are. Alive and ready to conquer whatever challenges are in your way.

Love, Molly

Song of the Day: "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield. As cheesy as it is, it's true.

"Unwritten"

I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

Oh, oh, oh

I break tradition, sometimes my tries, are outside the lines
We've been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can't live that way

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten

Oh, yeah, yeah

Surviving and Thriving

Dear Molly,

       So. Junior year came to a close. And you've made it. At the very least, you survived. Well, kind of, sort of, maybe. Perhaps. And it was a rough year. You don't recommend trying to go back to a school with people you haven't seen in years.

      Overall, the year was sort of blah. Bleh. Meh. You muddled through Millikan, while encountering a cast of characters, which is to be expected. Some that you liked. Some that you didn't. A few people stick out in your mind, for various reasons. Looking back, you'll probably remember some truly good moments of people who went out of their way to be nice. But not many. Your teachers were good for the most part. Your grades left something to be desired.

       There's plenty of blah to mention.

       But the most important part of this year was self discovery. Too much of it to appropriately mention here.

       Moving on to senior year and college scares the sh*t out of you at the moment. You're on your way. You don't know where you're going. You're on your way. You're taking your time but you don't know where.(Thanks Paul Simon. Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard is a great song on a number of levels.) Anyway, like you said in the beginning of this blog, you're on a journey, a journey to thrive. And it ain't stopping anytime soon.

Song of The (Day,Week, Month, Year)

      This is a fight song. Notice the changes in words from "banging on his door" to "banging on this door". In NFTY this year, you learned quite a bit more about spirituality. To you, "God" has always been less of a person and more of an entity.

      This song just speaks to you on a number of levels, rap part included.

Love, Molly

"Hall Of Fame" by The Script
(feat. Will.I.Am)

Yeah, you can be the greatest
You can be the best
You can be the King Kong banging on your chest

You can beat the world
You can beat the war
You can talk to God, go banging on this door

You can throw your hands up
You can beat the clock (yeah)
You can move a mountain
You can break rocks
You can be a master
Don't wait for luck
Dedicate yourself and you gon' find yourself

Standing in the hall of fame (yeah)
And the world's gonna know your name (yeah)
'Cause you burn with the brightest flame (yeah)
And the world's gonna know your name (yeah)
And you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame

You can go the distance
You can run the mile
You can walk straight through hell with a smile

You can be the hero
You can get the gold
Breaking all the records they thought never could be broke

Yeah, do it for your people
Do it for your pride
How are you ever gonna know if you never even try?

Do it for your country
Do it for your name
'Cause there's gonna be a day...

When you're standing in the hall of fame (yeah)
And the world's gonna know your name (yeah)
'Cause you burn with the brightest flame (yeah)
And the world's gonna know your name (yeah)
And you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame

Be a champion, be a champion, be a champion, be a champion
On the walls of the hall of fame

Be students
Be teachers
Be politicians
Be preachers
(Yeah)

Be believers
Be leaders
Be astronauts
Be champions
Be truth seekers

Be students
Be teachers
Be politicians
Be preachers

Be believers
Be leaders
Be astronauts
Be champions

Standing in the hall of fame (yeah, yeah, yeah)
And the world's gonna know your name (yeah, yeah, yeah)
'Cause you burn with the brightest flame (yeah, yeah, yeah)
And the world's gonna know your name (yeah, yeah, yeah)
And you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame

(Be a champion)
You could be the greatest
(Be a champion)
You can be the best
(Be a champion)
You can be the King Kong banging on your chest

(Be a champion)
You could beat the world
(Be a champion)
You could beat the war
(Be a champion)
You could talk to God, go banging on this door

(Be a champion)
You can throw your hands up
(Be a champion)
You can beat the clock (yeah)
(Be a champion)
You can move a mountain
(Be a champion)
You can break rocks

(Be a champion)
You can be a master
(Be a champion)
Don't wait for luck
(Be a champion)
Dedicate yourself and you gonna find yourself
(Be a champion)

Standing in the hall of fame