Born in Queens, NY, I was raised in a family where my mother was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and substance use disorder. After reading "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" by Dr. Ramani Durvasula, she may have narcissistic personality disorder, although never officially diagnosed by a professional. My father spent much of his time tending to her needs, attempting to “fix her.” It was a cycle of insanity, leaving my brother, sister, and I neglected while joining him to find a solution. Dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, I was left to my own devices on my mother’s condition and how to navigate the “real world” without parental guidance. I used drugs and alcohol to escape a lack of personal identity and a nurturing relationship with my parents. I couldn’t achieve consistent recovery until I was 28. Through self-assessment, reading, cognitive behavioral therapy, and mindfulness meditation, I was able to build a healthy personal identity, heal interpersonal relationships, and promote healing for others on addiction, trauma, and narcissistic abuse. My childhood began the pursuit of choosing to pursue a counseling psychology profession. My parents met and married through meeting at a 12-step recovery program. On many occasions as a child, the police would arrest my mother and take her to lockdown psych wards. My family and I would visit her, where I met struggling patients with diverse backgrounds. When I was 29, my mother was sent to a psych ward for the last time. She had threatened to commit suicide, so they put her in a padded room with a rounded concrete bed. Due to this incident, I became my mother’s legal conservator and took on my father’s role in caring for her. I was baffled by the thought I had become like my father and by the continuous reality of her condition into adulthood. However, I had been one year sober and was no saint. When I was 21 years old, I met a woman with narcissistic traits who introduced me to hard drugs. For the next four years of our relationship, I went to jail multiple times, was homeless on the streets, and stayed in shelters, along with living in sober living homes to finally get sober at 28. I’ve experienced many shades of the mental health disorder spectrum during my lifetime. At the same time, I’m 37 years old with 9 years of sobriety. I’ve worked a 12-step program, attended therapy, and continue to explore behavioral therapy to stay sober while helping other men achieve sobriety through sponsorship. I’ve watched them go from homelessness in detox centers to having jobs, housing, and relationships with family. Professionally, I’ve worked with at least 100 children and adults with age ranges of 5-35 with developmental disabilities, including autism, down syndrome, and cerebral palsy. My job is to help them develop life skills and reduce behaviors in the home, community, and professional environment. Many of my clients also have co-occurring mental health disorders such as ADHD, anxiety, and schizophrenia. Also, I finished a bachelor’s degree program. I went back to school and earned a master’s degree in the field of arts. Regarding moving on from the arts, every day, I interact with family members with unresolved issues, 12-step recovery members, roommates, and people in other social settings dealing with shortcomings. These continuous interactions with people suffering have pushed me over the threshold to commit to a life of service in the mental health field as a licensed mental health therapist.