At 22 I was an addict, had lost my fiancé, was underweight, was living in a shithole underneath a siblings house, had failed uni and had never had a real job.

I was the epitome of a failure. Especially as I was actually quite bright and creative and had let my childhood trauma drive me into addiction. Then I found myself homeless.

One day after becoming homeless I had a breakdown. I found myself on the floor of a friends house after blacking out during an anxiety attack.

That day changed everything for me. Somehow life just started coming together after that. There was a lot of determination at play. I never wanted to feel that way again.

Now I am 25. I am clean, I have a wonderful career with a major tech company and just got my first promotion. I have a beautiful little boy and a lovely house in a nice neighborhood. I also have a puppy. The fiancé and I also reconciled.

Sometimes we are "behind", but that doesn't mean we are failures. It just means we are late starters in a race that doesn't actually exist. What is most important is that you are always taking those small steps towards your goals. A slow moving journey is better than not moving at all.