Recovery to me has meant being given a life filled with meaning and purpose, to be able to help others. Before I recovered I had no purpose, nothing I cared about other than numbing myself. In my experience, a life without any meaning leads to depression and existential crises. I was aimless, empty, and selfish. I wanted to be more than I was, I had aspirations, and an interest in psychology but I had no idea how to get better until I got sober. My recovery has been based in the program of AA, which is rooted in community, service to others, and believing in something greater than oneself. All these components are deeply meaningful and it gave me a purpose. I went from only caring about myself to having friends that were also trying to survive the depths of addiction and we survived by helping each other. We helped each other through the best and the worst of times and we overcame the difficult early months of recovery. I also learned to be useful, which I had not managed to be during my active addiction. I was of no use to myself, let alone others because I had nothing to give to anyone. Being of service at meetings and helping others allowed me to grow and feel like a person who deserved to recover. My experience has made me uniquely useful to others who still suffer from addiction.