I founded this website with the vision of helping others through my very own life experiences and what I have learned from those experiences in order to turn my life around. With that in mind, I feel that it would be irresponsible if I do not share the lessons that I have learned from others. If I feel like you can relate to a situation and learn from it then it is my responsibility to post it. This is not a happy story, however, it is a cautionary tale to keep in mind. This is a true story, and this is not a fictitious site. I will never post something that is fabricated, I feel that it is important to stay true to my original vision of this website. I sincerely hope that you can learn something from this story and apply these lessons to your life.

I like to keep my articles upbeat and positive for the most part. This article will unfortunately not be all sunshine and rainbows. However, much can be learned from the negative aspects of life. You cannot win all of the time. This is important to keep in mind, but you must also remember that just because you are at a current low point, you do not have to choose to live there. I have had highs, lows and everything in between. If I managed to live through my lows, so can you!

This tale begins in a little shitty town just outside of Orlando, Florida. In a trailer park where every walk of life could be found with the exception of the wealthy. In this trailer park, you had people fighting to get out and others who seemed to relish the idea of living a terrible life. A very diverse group of individuals lived here. This tale is about a boy named Noah (for the protection of his true identity). Noah was a bit of a troublemaker from a very young age. Part of his trouble-making antics developed due to his anger that grew from his biological Father not being around for his upbringing. He had a half-brother, David, that chose to live a very different life than Noah’s. Those that surrounded Noah never really let his stepfather become a major influence in his life. His family tended to justify his actions and make excuses for him due to his father not being around. 

As Noah grew up his trouble-making antics grew worse and worse. Each time the antics would be followed by justification from the people who surrounded him. Taking responsibility for his actions is not something that was ever embedded into Noah‘s moral fabric. So as Noah grew, he could continue to hurt those around him whether through direct action or due to his actions involving others without any sort of ramifications for those actions. This led to a wild lifestyle of experimenting with drugs, multiple arrests prior to becoming eighteen years of age and many more after. The crimes that he was committing also began to increase in their severity with each new arrest. Even after having run-ins with the police it was always somebody else’s fault. Noah could do no wrong in the eyes of the people that he interacted with on a daily basis and this led him down a very dark path. The very path that Noah lives on today. 

This tale is not just about Noah; it’s about the people around him that his actions have affected. At an age too young to truly understand the meaning of what it is to be a father, Noah became one. He had a beautiful daughter, one that grew up for the first couple of years without him being around. Noah had managed to land himself in prison and left his daughter to be influenced by whomever she was surrounded by. Five long years Noah‘s daughter did not have her father in her life. As you’d imagine this could drastically alter the remainder of his daughter‘s life. This was not considered by Noah, for this arrest like the many before it was not his fault. Noah had developed many addictions along this road. The people that influenced him while he was being raised would say “It’s the drugs that are to blame, Noah wouldn’t have done this if he was in the right frame of mind.“ They would never bring his moral compass into consideration. 

Meanwhile, there was a beautiful daughter in the free world growing up without a father present. Fast forward four years and now Noah‘s brother had to break the news of his mother dying within the confines of a prison. Noah would not be able to make it to his Mother’s funeral due to his prior actions that lead him to a prison sentence. Fast forward to his release and Noah becomes a father once more. He had another beautiful daughter of a different mother than the first. Unfortunately for his second daughter his addiction bites again and he is off to the races on a very fast downward spiral. Before you know it, Noah is living in a rundown trailer, so intoxicated that he cannot make it to work anymore. Noah, as I’ve mentioned previously had a way to escalate situations to even worse circumstances. To fuel his drug addiction he began stealing from his previous employer.

Through all of the darkness, Noah would keep in touch with his half-brother on an inconsistent basis depending on the current condition of his addiction. Once his brother David learned of Noah‘s condition, he tried to give Noah the best chance at success that he could muster. He offered Noah an opportunity to start a new life in the Rocky Mountains. First, Noah would need to go to rehab, and furnish proof that he had completed a program, this was the only condition which needed to be met prior to the relocation. Once Noah produced the proof he hopped on a plane and flew to the Rockies. A new chance at life, so many possibilities that could be explored. As I mentioned at the beginning of this tale, it is not a happy one. 

Even being granted this amazing chance at a new life, Noah chose to live in squalor. A couple of months after relocating to the Rockies, he had successfully built a network of terrible influences to surround himself with, unbeknownst to David. Was it the poor influences fault? Not even a little. He had learned this behavior over the course of many years. One night, Noah intentionally brought heroin and methamphetamine into David‘s home. The home which David had worked hard for and the home that provided shelter to David, his wife and Noah’s two-year-old nephew. He had blown an amazing opportunity with the last person that believed in him. 

Is this the end of the tale? Not quite. 

After the night which Noah brought drugs into his brother’s home, he had another significant break in his life. A company offered him a position that would pay him three times what he had ever earned on a yearly basis up to this point in his life. His addiction again took over his life. He bought a large number of drugs with his first large check and decided that drugs were more important than a better future and a chance at reconciliation with his daughters. This follows the same pattern his life has represented, he just kept digging himself deeper. Noah eventually became homeless wandering the streets of Utah and ultimately made it all the way to Nevada. He wanders the streets to this very day. 

The ending to this tale is yet to be written. The unfortunate part is that Noah does not realize that if he can manage to motivate himself enough to dig himself out of this hole that he has put himself in, he could inspire millions of people to do the same. Did he have the odds stacked against him from the beginning? Most definitely. However, it was Noah’s responsibility to take into account his actions and how they affect the people around him.

Now, why did I tell you this tale? Simply, because this can happen to any one of us. Nobody is untouchable. Was it Noah’s fault that the adults around him didn’t make him evaluate his actions and consider how they affected the people around him? No. With that said, at some point, you have to have a realization as an adult that some things are right and others are wrong. Most of us learn these principles when we are very young. You must understand the impact of your decisions, not only on yourself but on those around you also. We can all learn something from this tale; I know I certainly have. 

Noah’s life is not over, hell, it may be waiting to start. He has a long way to go before he can ever relax. Noah has been to the pits of hell. He has lived with a massive addiction for many years of his life. It is up to him to try to rebuild his life. 

Will he ever make the effort? 

Will this soul remain lost? 

Will he only live on through this website? 

Only Noah knows…

–MindofAMan