Through The Storm

There are moments in our lives we will never forget and I have to admit I don’t think I will ever forget the last nine months of my life. I’ve been homeless since December of 2017 after a fire claimed my apartment and most of my possessions. I’ve been striving to become a web developer for over two years learning and teaching myself along the way. I decided to pick up and move across the country to Portland where I have lived in a homeless shelter for the last three months while attending a coding boot camp and working. It has been nine months of pure hell. I have endured anxiety and depression that has brought me to my knees more so than my circumstances have. My own internal voice plagued me with questions: “Did I make the right decision in moving to Portland?” “Will I ever find a dev job?” “How much longer do I have to be homeless?” In that time I have learned more about myself than in the last 30 years combined. I’ve learned how strong a person I am and how I can persevere through just about anything. Therapy has helped me to explore a lot about myself I had chosen to ignore for far too long leading me to stop fighting my situation and begin accepting it. Accepting that this is just part of the journey to where I’m headed not the final destination. All of this was necessary for me to grow into the man I am today and be where I am now. In the last two weeks the clouds have opened up and for the first time in a long time it wasn’t bad shit raining down on me.

I signed my offer letter to join the team at Appointlet as a web developer.

I’ve been blessed with a living situation that will work amazingly for me here in Portland.

It feels as though for once the sky is the limit and through my journey I can appreciate and be grateful for every little thing that comes my way. No matter where you are in your journey know things will get better, just hang in there and the sun will come out again.