At first glance, the title itself may raise some red flags. "Gross?" you may cry, holding up your nose in astonishment. After all, long-gone are the days of public school where such words were lauded as badges of honor! Heck, some of you may even still cling to the only stereotype of the "gross" fat nerd living in his parent's basements playing games like World of Warcraft, but man oh man! Do I have some surprises in store for you, dear reader!
Much like any good story, a great introduction to a blog begins with one thing above all else: honesty. This does not necessarily mean the kind of honesty that can be neither proven nor disproven in the court of law, but rather a kind of justice heralded by those who have suffered, have triumphed, and have lived the tales themselves. As such, the information which I am about to divulge unto you, dear readers, is not one of 100% factual evidence, at least by the standards of some imaginary lawyer named Chad (because that's such a fitting name for a lawyer, isn't it?) All this means, quite simply, is the the recounts of my upbringing, the path that led me on this journey of self-improvement and discovery that can one day enhance your future selves. is exactly how I remember it. There will be no qualms for intricacies or exact order of events, because in the end, none of that really matters anyway. In the end, one thing reigns supreme, holding immense power over everything else in the lives of all those whom we touch in our time on this earth: our experiences, as we experienced them.
Not to bore you with the entirety of my life-story here (because seriously, you can go buy an actual damn memoir for that, good people, I hear). Instead, I simply wish to give you just enough of a glimpse into my life so that you may better understand not only what drove me to write this blog in the first place, but to help the many people out there struggling through the same horrors of obesity, depression, anorexia, addiction, body dysmorphia, bulimia, and so much more that is simply impossible to list without giving each the due credit and respect that they deserve.
Speaking of credit, there is no single man whom deserves more credit for shaping me into the stalwart, strong-willed soul that I am today than my grandfather, who also serves as the inspiration for this blog's namesake, Bob Gross.
Bob Gross was a great many things to a great many people, but to me, above all else, he was a dear friend and mentor. It is from Bob that I learned the seminal values which I give full credit to the miraculous success I have achieved, even in the face of several unavoidable struggles including being born with Spina Bifida, a damaged Thyroid Gland, and numerous developmental disabilities related to the aftermath of such. No matter what happened, no matter what we went through together as a team, hand in hand, my grandfather was there every step of the way, showing that the way to health and happiness can not be found through the likes of drugs or money, but that they are achievable through hard, physical work, and no shortage of love in one's heart.
But, above all else. Bob Gross held one motto more close to his heart than anything else, "If you love someone, let them know, because you never know if you're going to get a second chance."
Truly a man of his word, Bob Gross lived on to accrue a plethora of friends and family rivaling the social networks of billionaires or celebrities in his hometown of Key Port NJ. This singular, beautiful attitude, this undying commitment to now, more so than ever before, concede the innermost of one'e heart's desires without fear of repercussion, is the kind of lesson that I firmly believe could change the lives of so many People around the globe, whether that be fitness related, finance, relationships.... The possibilities are endless, and much like the spirit of my beloved grandfather, the lessons to be learned from here on out encompass far more than health or fitness, psychology or hard science, and even beyond the nebulous territory of the philosophical and ephemeral. Rather, my intention with this blog isn't to teach you one thing or have you memorize some list of habits that you'll wind up jotting down on a notebook right before you use it as fire for the kiln (though it does make for some good kiln)
Instead, I'm going to take the approach my old favorite English teacher informed us of on the first day of class. By the time you hit that shiny little X button.... Thing? Whatever it looks like on your current screen, you get the point, I want you to have truly learned something. This does not mean there will be any memorization required, and no, before you ask, there will be no quizzes at the end, so cool your jets (is that even still a thing? I like to think it is)
By the time you finish reading this, by the time you finish perusing everything that this growing blog has to offer, I have one goal, and one goal only: to make you, the reader, better human beings because of it. Become the Supermen you were born to be.
Much like any good story, a great introduction to a blog begins with one thing above all else: honesty. This does not necessarily mean the kind of honesty that can be neither proven nor disproven in the court of law, but rather a kind of justice heralded by those who have suffered, have triumphed, and have lived the tales themselves. As such, the information which I am about to divulge unto you, dear readers, is not one of 100% factual evidence, at least by the standards of some imaginary lawyer named Chad (because that's such a fitting name for a lawyer, isn't it?) All this means, quite simply, is the the recounts of my upbringing, the path that led me on this journey of self-improvement and discovery that can one day enhance your future selves. is exactly how I remember it. There will be no qualms for intricacies or exact order of events, because in the end, none of that really matters anyway. In the end, one thing reigns supreme, holding immense power over everything else in the lives of all those whom we touch in our time on this earth: our experiences, as we experienced them.
Not to bore you with the entirety of my life-story here (because seriously, you can go buy an actual damn memoir for that, good people, I hear). Instead, I simply wish to give you just enough of a glimpse into my life so that you may better understand not only what drove me to write this blog in the first place, but to help the many people out there struggling through the same horrors of obesity, depression, anorexia, addiction, body dysmorphia, bulimia, and so much more that is simply impossible to list without giving each the due credit and respect that they deserve.
Speaking of credit, there is no single man whom deserves more credit for shaping me into the stalwart, strong-willed soul that I am today than my grandfather, who also serves as the inspiration for this blog's namesake, Bob Gross.
Bob Gross was a great many things to a great many people, but to me, above all else, he was a dear friend and mentor. It is from Bob that I learned the seminal values which I give full credit to the miraculous success I have achieved, even in the face of several unavoidable struggles including being born with Spina Bifida, a damaged Thyroid Gland, and numerous developmental disabilities related to the aftermath of such. No matter what happened, no matter what we went through together as a team, hand in hand, my grandfather was there every step of the way, showing that the way to health and happiness can not be found through the likes of drugs or money, but that they are achievable through hard, physical work, and no shortage of love in one's heart.
But, above all else. Bob Gross held one motto more close to his heart than anything else, "If you love someone, let them know, because you never know if you're going to get a second chance."
Truly a man of his word, Bob Gross lived on to accrue a plethora of friends and family rivaling the social networks of billionaires or celebrities in his hometown of Key Port NJ. This singular, beautiful attitude, this undying commitment to now, more so than ever before, concede the innermost of one'e heart's desires without fear of repercussion, is the kind of lesson that I firmly believe could change the lives of so many People around the globe, whether that be fitness related, finance, relationships.... The possibilities are endless, and much like the spirit of my beloved grandfather, the lessons to be learned from here on out encompass far more than health or fitness, psychology or hard science, and even beyond the nebulous territory of the philosophical and ephemeral. Rather, my intention with this blog isn't to teach you one thing or have you memorize some list of habits that you'll wind up jotting down on a notebook right before you use it as fire for the kiln (though it does make for some good kiln)
Instead, I'm going to take the approach my old favorite English teacher informed us of on the first day of class. By the time you hit that shiny little X button.... Thing? Whatever it looks like on your current screen, you get the point, I want you to have truly learned something. This does not mean there will be any memorization required, and no, before you ask, there will be no quizzes at the end, so cool your jets (is that even still a thing? I like to think it is)
By the time you finish reading this, by the time you finish perusing everything that this growing blog has to offer, I have one goal, and one goal only: to make you, the reader, better human beings because of it. Become the Supermen you were born to be.
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