A boxing gym is like the emergency room of mental health. Non athletes started to take up boxing years ago because it got them into great physical shape very fast. Now they do it because it gets you into great mental shape even faster. Nobody ever became a professional fighter because they had a happy childhood. Whatever transpired that their only redemption was to climb into a ring and hit someone must have been pretty traumatic. It just wasn't as traumatic as getting hit back in front of an audience. There's plenty of references to boxing as being a metaphor for life. I'll spare you the Knute Rockne/Forrest Gump philosophy and cut to the chase - no matter what challenges there are in your life you can always find a solution in the ring. You don't need a cheerleader on the sidelines telling you what to do. You need a coach on the frontlines telling you how to do it. Life is not fair. The game is rigged. We're all going to die one day. Today is not that day. Fight one more round, live one more day. Defiance is your destiny and freedom is your destination. If you want to live in the land of the free, you have to make this the Home Of the Brave.​