Thread by @fightpaindaily

🧵 on how I got where I am today, seems appropriate for #PainMonth:

At 16yo I was a senior in high school & sophomore in college, simultaneously.

At 18, w/ a double major & a minor within 2 semesters of #graduation, I quit college. I knew it wasn’t for me.

Do I regret it?

1st A bit about happened next:

I joined the #army to follow in my dad & grandpas footsteps.

Was seriously injured in the 1st half of training yet kept pushing. I made it through but needed extensive surgery & physical rehab & still have #Pain.

I came home feeling I failed.

Once I was home & healing, I turned the page.

I spent next years climbing a corporate ladder, making over $100k/yr at 20.

And I HATED every second of it!

I happily accepted a promotion to ‘head cook & chief bottle-washer’. I was married & raising a healthy baby girl.

I had no idea it would take every bit of my schooling & training to prepare me for our next adventure - #FosterKids!

Once cancer took my ability to have more children, we began sharing our love and home with foster kids.

I was dealing with the hell that is working with social services, the kiddos #MentalHealth challenges, and my own physical health issues (1st of 3 cancers + #PelvicMesh hell).

It seemed I spent most days #advocating for someone/something in some government building.

That is when I realized my calling, my passion - #activism.

Back to my question - do I regret dropping out of college when I could have had 3 degrees before I turned 20?

Today, no. But between the Army & finding my calling there were years of asking ‘why me’ & rehashing choices.

I learned that the years wishing I’d made other choices or telling myself I deserved anything difficult that came my way were BS.

A waste of time and happiness.

There was a moment I realized that all those years could have been different, but 2 things would’ve changed:

1) I wouldn’t have learned to take responsibility after years of blaming others

&

2) I wouldn't be who and where I am today

Life is better because of my struggles.

Plus the foster kids that came through my home wouldn’t know how much they are #loved.

And what’s more important than teaching the next generation that they are loved, worthy, & how to love others?

None of us would be who we are today without experiences gained from struggles.

If I had made different choices, I likely wouldn't know how to:

hustle to survive
repair home/car
decorate cakes like a pro
sew
or
coupon to stretch $200/mo enough to feed 5+ people 3 meals a day.

Those skills made me flexible which is extremely helpful in my endeavors of late.

I still have 2 foster kids who stay with me most of the time, my oldest is now college aged but struggling, & my physical health is my biggest challenge.

Multiple battles with cancer, one recently which involved months of chemo & all that comes with it, have taken their toll.

But these challenges have also sharpened my resolve and shown me even more areas where my particular brand of #activism WILL come in handy.

So I will keep fighting, keep challenging myself & the status quo.

It’s that status quo that keeps the rich getting richer & more powerful.

It keeps Americans sicker than their counterparts around the world.

And worst of all, it discourages citizens from believing they can get involved and make a difference.

If someone who never finished college, was injured in the military, and has emotionally disturbed children in and out of their home can use the very skills learned in these #challenges to make policy changes, anyone can.

The skills you least expect could be the ticket to change.