There's a famous saying by singer-songwriter, Jhené Aiko, that you have to “lose your mind to find peace of mind". I think I exemplified this saying as I went through a mental break as a result of a series of extremely traumatic events that allowed me to grow and change the trajectory of my life. A few years ago, I went through something called a psychosis that really changed my life forever. I never really felt like I could succeed in life my examples at home weren't the best and I found myself longing guidance for most of my childhood, after I went through this break in reality, I had no choice but to relearn what I’m interested in and how to function normally again. This allowed me to completely reform my thinking, and focus on what really would improve my life. Prior to this experience, I was just thinking about numbing whatever pain I'd been going through. I’d do anything to get a rush of emotion; anything that took away the negative emotions I was feeling. At first, all I wanted was to numb my pain, and I didn’t want to feel the pain that my past had inflicted on me. I let it completely overcome my life and impact my personality, creating a whole lot more pain for myself in my hedonistic venture. There was so much self destruction which prompted my move from California to Colorado. This allowed me to reflect and work on myself without the toxic influences from my past. I had plenty of time to think and make myself better, which I did. I found myself realizing that I could create my own reality that wasn’t defined by my trauma. Instead, I could create the life that I wanted to live for. I went from getting all Fs to getting good grades and actually being able to enjoy school academically, it really changed my outlook on life. Working towards overcoming something versus running from it is hard. Sometimes I think that if it wasn’t for my mental break, I'd still be where I was four years ago today. I believe in a higher power and I believe that God has led me to go through this life changing experience, a reality check, a wake up call if you will, for a reason. When you face something head on, rather than avoiding the truth, there’s pros and cons. But, in the long run it’s really worth putting in the work to create the best version of yourself. I'm now able to use my past to remind myself of the growth that I have made. I have found peace and motivation to continue on this path, and accept nothing less than success.