My stepdad back in the days when he was full of anger, addicted to over-the-counter drugs, and full of self-regret would often get into fights with my Mother. One time I fought back, pushed him and yelled, "Don't talk to my Mother that way!" - I was 12. He grabbed me by my throat and pinned me against a bed and said, "You lazy piece of shit, how dare you push me. You do nothing but lay around while I work and feed your ungrateful ass."

He has long since changed and gotten those old demons under control. Still, something about that day stuck out in a childhood full of yelling and fear. While I have my own issues I am working through from all those years of fighting and moving one thing stands out above all else: I am the only person on both sides of the family, apart of my Grandmother, who graduated college, and I got each degree in three years - that sad man who would intimidate a child can go fuck himself.

To this day all I want to do is help people. I was fired from my last job where I worked as an at-risk manager in a smallish youth group home for criticizing how that institution did things. Apparently it was not my job to help, only to be, and I couldn't understand that fast enough. What he said to me all those years ago has been a driving force behind everything I have become, and everything I would like to do for others.

Well shit, this got personal.