I am Breanna Brown. I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri in a setting that was unfortunate and full of despair. My mother and step father were addicted to Crack and other illicit drugs and my siblings and I were taken from them at an early age. I was 7 when I went into the foster care system. Sprain got hold of me at the age of 9 years old when I could no longer remember my mother's face. But I pushed on hoping to find the love she was not able to give. As I grew up, I was surrounded by people that did not have good intentions for me. I was a victim of rape, molestation, incest, gun violence, domestic violence when I got older. During my teens I tried joining the military. I was hoping for structure and guidance but by then I was so lost I only created for my life. When I was medically discharged from the military, I tried to find solace in a journey all my own. But poverty, and no support system, led me into the care and company of people, again, that showed me ways to escape that I never knew about. Drugs sex and mental illness do not make a good mix. But I battled them all, and often, lost the fight. Lonely and scared, I ran to a new court looking for change. In Jefferson City Missouri I tried to start again. But I me someone asking the way that introduced me to pills, harder alcohol, and soon after, meth. How could I have stayed so far I would ask myself,. Disappointed in myself, and out of line of support, I stayed with what I knew. The man that showed me how to"party it all away", became my significant other. I saw him as my only person i could trust. But the drugs only got harder and he was leading me down a spiral with no remorse. The parties turned into fights, and beatings, and converted up bruises all too often, and one day, I just didn't recognize myself anymore. At only 113lbs in 2021, during the covid shutdowns,I found myself Married to my Abuser. I had lost babies during pregnancy due to the stress on my body and malnutrition. I had lost my mind and my will to live. Once the final attempt on my life was made in 2022 ,I realized I would not make it out of that marriage alive. The drugs that made me feel alive and slowly led me straight to my own death sentence. I tried one final time to pick myself up. I called a shelter in St Louis and the woman who answer heard in my voice my fear and my exhaustion with life. She too, knew that if I didn't make my escape, I might not live to see the next morning. That organization sent a taxi all the way to Farmington, MO to come from me from a Walmart and I left one last time. Running for my own freedom. Running for my life. Today 3 years later, I am clean and sober and have been since the day I took my life back in March of 2022. This is my chance to be the Champion of my Story. In taking my life back. I am now a caseworker helping people who have been through what I have. I am a going back to school and finally completing my degree. I Choose to WIN.