Today, as a recovering addict, I am much more grateful for everything I have. Before I decided to seek help for my addiction, I was very cynical, and I hated the world. I never tried even once to have a different outlook on my situation. The day I decided to reach out for help was a sort of spiritual awakening for me. I can remember the drastic change in perspective I had when I decided to get sober. To be sober, you have to try; you must have a drastic shift in perspective. Many people struggle to break through the comfort of their everyday life, especially recovering addicts or alcoholics. I was very used to my lifestyle of living with practically no emotion; the drugs prevented me from feeling what I was afraid to feel. During my first two weeks sober, I didn’t notice the change; all my emotions were coming back so fast that I didn’t have time to see the results of my hard work. Because the drugs prevented your emotions from being as intense, often addicts in their early stages of recovery can have an extremely hard time dealing with emotions; this applied to me as well. On my thirtieth day of sobriety, I had another spiritual awakening. I realized how much happier I was. I stopped labeling emotions as “bad” or “good.” Recovery is a journey with ups and downs, mistakes, and challenges. I’ve had my ups and downs, and I’m sure I will in the future; however, I love a challenge. My daily life now consists of gratitude and virtuous deeds, helping other recovering addicts, caring for my parents, and being the best person I can be. I gained a lot of my morals from practicing Buddhism. Buddhism focuses on mental health, enlightenment, and helping others, all things I believe in. Attending Temple is something I do weekly; it nourishes my mind and heals my soul. Through this practice, I have developed a loving relationship with my parents, friends, and strangers. Looking forward to seeing my parents is something I thought I would never say, yet I say it every day when I visit them. Today, I am grateful for my journey and those who have supported me. Support has come from people who I haven’t even met, and that's amazing to me. I thought I was not redeemable for the mistakes I made in the past, but clearly, this is not the case. My journey has fully restored my faith in humanity. Each and every human is inherently good. It is the condition and environment that warps and skews this goodness. I hope to help others as much as I can in my lifetime. If I can bring people happiness, maybe the world will become more peaceful. I’ve helped several recovering addicts in the rehab program I attend named The Insight Program. The program provides meetings every night, which helps our recovery community to flourish. Plenty of people have days where they struggle, including me. After each meeting, I talk with other addicts who are struggling, and I provide them with knowledge on how to overcome their current obstacles. At UNNC, my goal is to provide mental health support to anyone and everyone through the skills I've learned in recovery and my Buddhist practice. Everyone deserves a second chance in life, and sometimes, people unfortunately don’t have that grace. Many recovering addicts never get a second chance. However, they continue to turn their lives around despite the world being against them. Our sorrows and wounds heal only when we touch them with compassion.