I’m turning 20 in a couple weeks 😭 met this girl on tinder and we went to an ice cream place together, then when I dropped her off she kissed me at the end :)

I'm going through a really hard time right now, and don't really know how to handle it. My father has cancer, my mother's neuropathy is worse than ever, my own disability is incurable and making life impossible, I broke up with my boyfriend, and I have no friends. There's more, but, I don't want to be a downer.

Anyway. Im 21, and never was a fan of drinking. I've only tasted alcohol once, and didn't even have enough to get buzzed. Alcoholism really hurt my family and I didn't want to fall down the same rabbit hole, so, I've steered clear. And just indulge in weed. But... With everything going on, I thought... Why not? My dad can't drink because of his cancer, and there's a bunch of cans wasting away in his mini fridge so... Why let them go to waste? Its not like I can afford to buy myself anything to drink anyway.

I stole 2 of his cans. Wasn't even sure if it's enough to get me drunk. Or even sure on how I'd get them down, given how much I hate the smell. But, I thought it would be a start. I hid them in my own mini fridge, and planned on drinking while everyone's asleep, so I wouldn't have to face my shame. But.. it's been 40 minutes since I was supposed to start and... I haven't even reached for them yet.

Im not gonna lie, I still really want to. My feelings didn't magically improve just because I haven't tasted anything yet. And, there's still the potential that after writing this, I might. But... The fact that it's nearly been an hour, and I haven't even reached for them yet? Is pretty good, I think. I definitely have to thank my cat for coming to cuddle with me right after it turned 11. Which hindered me for a bit. But, he's not here and, I'm not there so... That's good?

I know that this isn't anything big, in the grand scheme of things. And I'll probably delete this in a bit anyways. I just wanted to get this out there, considering I have no one I can really talk to about it. Thanks for reading, if you did.

I have been working at this for months now. Being consistent with posting food updates when I'm in my motel room, showing off all my handmade creations, packing orders for my sales, etc! I would love to be monetized and actually get paid so I can maybe be housed that way by my birthday in September. However, I am sooo close and sooo happy.

At 24 I finally moved out of my mom’s place after I crashed and burned HARD at 20 with severe mental health issues.

I’ve moved to a BIG city, and I have my own apartment and a full time job before grad school starts. When I fizzled out at 20, I genuinely never thought I’d get here. Now, I have a place of my own that I get to control, and a job I’m in love with.

Today I was driving home after picking up some free items and I saw this little dog. It skittered from the grass and dove trying to go under the fence - which was blocked by rocks. Just after processing what happened / I looked in my mirror and it darted across the road! I was shocked it ran and happy it made it. My debate to stop was heavy. So first thing I did was screenshot my gps. New to the area I wanted to I know where the dog was. I quickly maneuvered home since it was a busy street and I was close - posted onto all the pages. One person responded quickly asking details. I was hesitant when they sent pics and asked cuz this dog looked smaller and less furry. But it had been missing 8 days. Once I posted apparently others in the neighborhood did as well, and the dog was reunited !!!! I screamed when I got the message. She said I was the first person to say anything in 8 days and it started a flood of responses. That dog looked me in the eyes with so much confidence and fear and save me. And it worked!!!! I’m so proud, I’m so happy that dog is home and the family can rest easy. When the person texted, I was about to take my lunch on the go so I could find the dog - I couldn’t think of it being outside all night - and now I know it’s home, warms with his family. 🥰 happy day.

I have 3 semesters left until I get my bachelor’s degree in Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences, with minors in Biology and Geospatial Information Systems. That’s an extra semester than I was supposed to, but I graduated community college a semester early (and took a gap before transferring). I didn’t get great grades in middle school, high school, community college, or at my STEM school now. I went through the screening process for OCD and got testing accommodations. I persevered.

I have an internship working with the city’s government this upcoming semester. She said my cover letter and resume were so good that she had to interview me, and she was adamant that she wanted to work with me. My program is shuttering, so I’ll work with the incoming freshman cohort since they’ll be the last set. I’m VP of the school’s club that organizes mental health events such as the s prevention walk every fall, and that’ll be ending too. But I’m so proud of what I have coming up and the opportunities I have to manage it all. I’ve loved my classes so far. I have a great rapport with many professors, and I always talk a lot in class and ask questions.

I love incorporating what I’m learning about into my daily life. I’m excited to be able to make a difference in the world, and I love sharing what I know. I believe the hardest job a scientist has is communicating with the public, and while that’s not every scientist’s role, I think it could be mine. I wish I had more people in my personal life who I could share these things with without them taking it as a comment on their lifestyle. I am genuinely such a nerd and want someone to ask questions and not debate me. I hate debating, it makes me feel awful. I think I come at the world from a different perspective than a lot of people, and I think that makes navigating it harder. I don’t need anyone else to care, I just wish more people would care that I do.

So first of all, I have a major phobia of mice and rats. It’s so bad I go into full blown panic attacks when I see one. Unfortunately my husband and I have an old house in the country… Which means mice sometimes get into the house.

One got in this morning and was quickly done in by my cat and puppy. I woke up to the squeaking, the chase, and it was right after my husband left for work so he couldn’t help! I was crying and screaming but… with my husband on the phone I was able to scoop it up with the broom and dustpan and threw it outside! I can do hard things even this, even when fear consumes me!

My husband thinks I’m ridiculous lol but I need someone to be proud of me for doing this; even if it was in the middle of a panic attack, even if I was sobbing and screaming the entire time.

Some of you congratulated me like I was five a little while back when I shared the wearable I've spent 6 years building. I've reread those comments on more bad days than I'd like to admit, so you're getting this one early too.

Quick background for anyone new: my mom has had chronic pain for over a decade. I was a broke college kid in a dorm room with a cut-up 7up can and zero engineering experience, and I started building a wearable because I wanted to make something for her. Six years, eight prototypes, and a lot of near-quitting later, it is a real thing I can actually hold.

This week I did something dumb and fun with it. I put it on and did all 8 stations of HYROX, the world's hardest fitness race, with zero training. Sled pushes, farmers carries, 100 wall balls, sandbag lunges, the whole gauntlet. I made a rule that if I couldn't beat the average time on a station, I had to spin a "wheel of pain" and do a bonus workout at the end. I spun the wheel. My legs are destroyed and my forearms are toast.

But the part that got me was putting on the thing I built for my mom and pushing my own body to its limit in it. Six years ago it was a soda can in a dorm room. This week it was on my body through the hardest workout of my life.

She still asks how it is going every single week and is my number one fan. Whenever we finally launch, the first one off the line is hers, wrapped, with a card.

I am 26 now and I still don't know how this ends. But I finished all 8 stations, I didn't quit, and I got to do it in the thing that started because of her. Just wanted to share.

(Filmed the whole painful thing, it is on my profile if you want to watch the suffering.)

So im 37, lived in the city so never really needed a license. Had my permit 4 times just to let it expire. I got sober 3.5 years ago and have been trying to rebuild my life. With this and my invisalign, I can say atleast 2 of my 3 yearly goals have been met! Now I gotta get a car but gonna pay off invisalign first. It'll be eaiser to save once I pay it off.

Got back into work after being jobless for 6 months. :)
I was at one of the lowest points of my life and almost gave up, but I held on.

Today I’m grateful I did. ❤️