nect. At first she was unwilling to let me back in, which was understandable. After a lot of time and effort she saw the real change happening and we slowly worked things out. I remember a specific conversation from that time period, she said, “I believe in you, and I know we can do this.” That one statement was a big factor in me staying strong and pushing forward to achieve my success. After cleaning myself up, I became interested in spirituality. I started first with learning about Christianity; I joined a church and became close with the members. Through that I was able to find a good job working full time and saved up to get a place of our own. This all happened in just six months of getting out of jail. It was amazing to see how good things can happen when you make a change for the better.
Today I am happy to say that we have been in our own place for the past year and a half. I am still into spirituality and energy, although I no longer identify with Christianity I still respect and apply its teachings. I have changed my eating habits and lifestyle as well, my most recent endeavor was switching to a vegan diet. After changing my life around I am a much less stressed person. I see life for what it is worth now and all the possibilities that I have in this world. I can also finally see people starting to have trust in me again, instead of looking at me as the untrustworthy addict I once was. Most would disagree, but being thrown in jail may have been the best thing to ever happen to me. I was spiraling out of control but the universe put me back on course and redirected me. I still think back on the experience all
the time. I am able to see how lucky I am to have changed my ways, and on days I am down I remind myself of that. This experience is a key moment in my life that sparked change for the better. I learned that temporary satisfaction or relief can bring long term toxicity. Breaking free from years of addiction was very liberating to me. I now continue to grow and work to eventually be a wholesome individual. Although the experience was at first scary and overwhelming, I now look back on that week in jail as a good life experience. In a way the jail was a place of healing and knowledge for me, I went in lost and came out a better person. I now can face my problems head on instead of trying to avoid them, I can maintain self-control and not turn to outlets to relieve stress, and I can finally be my true self.
Time to Reflect, Photograph by Mary Holcomb
TCC : T RI N I T Y RIVE R C AM P U S
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