I am a father: I am way more than my addiction.
For about a year, I have been a Human Service Associate student at Western Technical College. I was in the Marketing program and the Mechanical design program in the past. My ultimate goal is to obtain a rewarding job. My motivators to stay in school are to provide a decent living to support my fiancé and child, as well as to raise awareness about addiction.
During my recovery, some barriers that I had to overcome were changes to my employment setting, and I had to build bridges with my family. My coping skills and strategies I used during early recovery included surrounding myself with sober people. Today, the supports in my life are my fiancé and my son. My friends and my instructors here at Western have also been a huge help. I am able to go to them with any issue, and they are able to help me keep calm. I also have found it helpful to think back to my old self. I did not have the best home life growing up which contributed to the decisions I made in the past. I know now things can always change, and they will. I truly believe you can do whatever you set your mind to; nothing is set in stone. Some advice I would give my younger self would be to pump your breaks and enjoy your life. Life happens way too fast, and you need to enjoy the ride. My success at being in recovery will help me in my future because I devoted a lot of time and effort to get where I am today; any avenue where I can put time and effort will be a success. When it comes to my identity, I define myself as a father.
