Back in university I met a friend who has become one of my closest and most trusted confidants. Our friendship began one evening when she knocked on my door and asked if I had the time to talk. That was the first of many long talks we had during our time at university.
I think many people (including those in our circle of friends) would have described her as “rebellious” or “difficult” and I would have to agree. But I saw all that as surface-level churn that drew attention away from the fundamentally good person hiding a little deeper down. Like many of us, she was working herself out and it was a bit harder on her than most.
To give you an idea of how bad things got, the school authorities became so concerned for her that they contacted her parents behind her back. Her parents were living in a neighbouring country and they travelled to the school to help sort things out. I wasn’t present at the time but I can only imagine how shocked she must have been to see both her parents walk into the room.
She’s settled down a lot now, found a great guy and is happily married. But lately memories of our time at university have bubbled to the surface and made me realize how much we all need a little of that “rebellious” spirit. In fact, I find myself admiring her more and more for having the guts to stand up for herself to such a degree.
I was always the good kid growing up. Kept my mouth shut, my head down and my nose clean. And I believe it has greatly helped me in life – I got good grades, received a few scholarships, was able to travel and had opportunities open up to me that others would never have seen. But it has also been limiting in other ways and it makes me wish I’d had the guts to “kick $#!+ up” just a little bit more growing up.
To be clear, I’m not taking sides here and there is room for both. I believe learning when to “fall in line” and when to be a little “rebellious” as we navigate life will benefit us all in the long run.
Ding Dong! Hello!
I’m not a fan of professional wrestling but I am intrigued by the world it has created for itself. And as an amateur actor, I appreciate the artistic and performance aspect of it even if I couldn’t imagine running the ropes myself. From my admittedly distant vantage point, and from the many clips that YouTube pushes to my feed, one wrestler has always stood out to me: Bayley.
Bayley began wrestling in 2008 and was signed to WWE in 2012 where she still is as of writing. She has a strong, vocal fanbase and you’ll hear them on social media and in YouTube comments. She works hard not only to improve her craft but also to raise other talents. During the COVID-19 pandemic when wrestling shows could not have a live audience, Bayley stood out for working so hard to keep things running. She’s been a stable, reliable fixture of WWE programming for years. In short, Bayley’s been a good soldier.
But it seems being a good soldier isn’t always to your benefit. In 2024 fans decried that Bayley was noticeably absent from promotional posters for WrestleMania 40, an oversight that other wrestlers picked up on including the popular (and divisive) CM Punk. More recently in 2025, Bayley was removed from WrestleMania 41 to make way for Becky Lynch (a popular and accomplished wrestler in her own right). For context, WrestleMania is a huge event and performing at WrestleMania is a big deal.
As if wanting to underscore the problem with being a “good soldier” in blood red ink, Karrion Kross made this promo just after WrestleMania 41. Warning, strong language.
Whether any of these promos & interviews are works, shoots or worked shoots, they all support something that’s taken me way too long to realize: sometimes we need to be a bit rebellious and kick $#!+ up. How much you kick up depends on you and the situation you find yourself in. But the bottom-line here is to be flexible; change tactics when necessary and be prepared to kick $#!+ up if that’s what is required.
Learning to Navigate
I’ve been asking myself “where in my life do I need to kick more $#!+ up?” A few places came to mind but going nuclear in any of them would not be in anyone’s best interest. The most surprisingly place I found myself admitting to was that I needed to kick more $#!+ up “in my own head” i.e. the things I tell myself. Is that negative story playing out again? Maybe it’s time to kick some $#!+ up.
And for the record, I’ve been using the phrase kick $#!+ up because it’s memorable and rolls off the tongue. I actually much prefer a phrase I’ve borrowed from the world of Fighting Games: Advancing Guard.
I love the image of protecting oneself while also creating space for yourself. Now if I could also have Iron Man shouting “Back off!” it’d be perfect.
Leave a Reply