The Journey Has Ended
...Damn, for the last eighteen weeks, this life--shit, my life--has been full of fits and starts, darkness and light. Moments of perfect clarity and moments of confusion. No time at all for idling though, no time at all. It’s been a long road, but I’m finally here, stepping out… Out of the shadows and onto the show stage with its blinding lights. Stepping up to show the world what I have made with nothing but spit, hard work and these two hands. These hands have gotten me here. Day after day, night after night, as I plowed forward, the thread of my destiny unraveled behind me. It’s like the mythical story I remember hearing as a kid, about that dude who walked into the maze to kill the half man, half beast monster. Many went in, none ever came out. But this dude did. After doing the deed, he got back out by following the string he laid down when he first entered the maze. When he first stepped out of that maze, I wonder how he felt? What does it feel like to be transformed? He went in a man, he stepped out a hero. Me, I’m about to step out too. But shit, I can’t tell if this place is an entrance or an exit… And I can’t see very far because of these bright lights. This is where the fear grips you--walking out into the unknown. Shit, we all fear getting lost, don’t we? Yeah, this is the story of life. Many would choose to live out their lives in a little room--warm, safe and dry. The world outside is a scary place. It’s a big ass maze full of monsters and demons. The path that leads out from that room disappeas into the horizon. But you know what? Let me tell you something and I want to be fucking clear about this… I would never have known what I was made of, what I could build with my two hands, if I didn’t take that first step down the path. Courage got me here, courage to put that fucking key in the ignition. See, life starts with a simple spark, then a single connection. But when we’re born, that connection, that line must be cut. Otherwise that lifeline becomes a tether, a restraint. We each gotta grow up to be our own men and walk our own paths. Yeah, walking out into the unknown, into the dark, can be frightening. But shit, what reassures me is this… I know I have the courage the walk. I also know that if I could see through the darkness ahead, I’d see my old man. This reassures me too. Yeah, he’d be there for sure, front and center, like he’s always been in my life. He’d be right next to my ma. My sis, yeah, she’d be there too along with my girl. Shit, none of ‘em would miss this for the world. Even Big Red. He’d be sitting somewhere, maybe next to Chops his lifting partner. I know I’d see more familiar faces, even those from my youth--the bullies, the naysayers, the critics. But I’d also see the faces of the future--the aspiring young bodybuilders. So this, so all this, is for me… But it’s also for them. It's for you too. If I kept looking, I know I’d eventually see your face--the face of someone who has awakened from the haze of a dream, as if from the maze of your former life. Brothers, wherever you go, whatever you do in this life, never be afraid. Choose to be courageous. Hurtle forward, as a man, into the mazes that will stand before you. Do not be afraid to lose your way, for if you do, you will never grow... You will never know the hero you were destined to become.
Re: Pictures from the life of IFBB pro Frank McGrath 
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