This might sound a little silly to some people to read as a post, but I genuinely owe John Cena a small piece of my childhood admiration and gratitude because when I was a teenager, I went through some really, really intense mental health struggles. Things got so difficult that I eventually found myself hospitalized in a psychiatric ward at just 16 years old. It was an incredibly challenging chapter of my life, and honestly, there were times when simply getting through the day felt like an accomplishment. The funny part was that before all of that happened, I actually couldn't stand Cena. I wasn't a fan. I didn't particularly enjoy watching him, and I certainly never imagined he'd become someone I would look back on with so much appreciation, but then came one random Monday Night Raw in 2015 when it hadn't been very long since my month long psych ward stay and eventual discharge. I was back home watching WWE. specifically when John Cena came out for his entrance, doing what he'd done countless times before. But this time, in my psych med anti psychotic/bi polar drowsy side effect state, he held up that familiar "never give up" message before making his way down the ramp, and I smiled. I mean, I REALLY smiled. I don't know what it was about that particular moment, or why those three words hit me the way they did, but something about seeing that message at that exact point in my life just stayed with me. Here I was, a 16-year-old kid who had just come out of one of the hardest experiences of his young life, watching a man walk down a wrestling ramp reminding millions of people not to give up. And for whatever reason, I needed that reminder. Cena didn't know I existed. Hell, he still doesn't know. And he damn well didn't know what I'd been through, where I had just come from, or what those three words meant to me in that moment. He was simply doing his entrance, something he'd done hundreds of times before. But sometimes you don't have to know someone personally to make a difference in their life. And so from that Monday onward, I became a Cena fan and not necessarily because of his championships, his rivalries, his matches, or even his accomplishments in WWE, but because of what he unknowingly represented to a kid who desperately needed a little encouragement. I know professional wrestling is entertainment. I know it's scripted. But the emotions, memories, inspiration, and connections people form through it are very real. And I'll always be grateful for that little moment in 2015. Never give up! We miss you John! ❤️   submitted by   /u/Still-I-Am77 [link]   [comments]