I honestly don't even know where to start... From using intravenous drugs behind dumpsters in downtown Colorado Springs to being a full-time student, small business owner and an all-star artist in Denver is quite literally the epitome of a rags-to-riches tale. Over the past few years in recovery I have been presented with overwhelming opportunities to completely redefine and custom tailor my life. My existence has gone from one that was sure to meet an abrupt end to one of possibilities and futures in which words alone cannot express. If I were to tell myself 10 years ago that I would have a shop of my own, wonderful coworkers, and an amazing wife I would think I'm still using. This is the life I begged for when I had moments of clarity and only using a 12 step program and taking care of myself was I able to achieve it. I take every day as a gift now and strive to constantly improve the man I am today. Recovery, in it's simplest form to me means constant work on myself and building a life that I can be proud to share when I go.

When I was young I always felt different than the rest of my family and peers. It felt like I was walking through life as an alien. Always wondering what the big inside joke was that I couldn’t understand. My mom seemed to notice this as well and sent me to the doctor to be tested. The doctor said that I had ADHD and gave me Ritalin for the next few years of my life to keep me in line. This made me feel even more like an impostor to my peers so I tried my best to fit in and be normal. Years later I ran with a crowd that seemed to understand where I was coming from, then they introduced me to what made them feel normal, meth. They were right, I felt normal at least, for a little while but then I started to push away the people that actually cared about me. My entire life quickly became enamored by the thought of my next high or drink. I couldn’t care less about school, so I left. I didn’t care about my family so I ran away. Every relationship that I built was to help my addiction, I did anything to get what I needed, and that landed me in trouble with the law, a lot. I was somehow able to get my GED in juvenile detention and every once in a while, a few months clean and sober. It wasn’t until I was in my thirties that I really wanted to try and be a better person. I saw so many friends die from the same things I was doing to my own body and I became scared. I went to programs that would help to maintain my sobriety and started to like myself too. I was also starting to become a pretty decent tattoo artist and wanted to open up my own shop. At the back of my mind though I always wanted to try and give school one more shot. Even when I was young art was a big part of my life, sober or not. And I knew from the moment I could pick up a pencil that art was the only career choice I could see myself being fulfilled in. Now, I have my own shop, amazing colleagues, years of sobriety, and a wife that finally convinced me to give art college a shot. For a while I was starting to feel burnt out with art and wanted the drive and passion I used to, and college has given me that. Now that I have a clean and clear head I have the drive to apply myself in a way I never did in my youth. I work hard every day to show that I deserve to not only have a higher education but to show that I can be better than what my past defined me as. The scholarship would help on my journey, not only to be a better me, but to also push my art in the direction it has been yearning for. It’s time to prove to myself that I can achieve anything that I put my mind to, and your help in my journey would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.