My life has been relentless, full of numerous struggles that refuse to end. Life’s trials that remain unbearably intense, and challenges that continue without pause or mercy.
I was raised in a violent alcoholic family, and have been in the judicial system and incarceration for most of my life. I have battled addiction for many years. Throughout this madness, I was homeless several times with no one to help me but myself.
Homelessness isn’t only about lacking walls and a roof, it’s about carrying the bitter weight of a society’s judgment. It’s the way people look through you like you don’t matter, as if your story ended before it ever had a chance to begin. It’s the endless cycle of rejection, the constant reminder that you are less than invisible, the mistake to be erased instead of a human being with a heartbeat and hope.
I left a 15 year abusive relationship in Utah and moved to California, with what I thought was a great friend. I had high hopes to enjoy my life while I still can. Unfortunately, that was short lived fantasy.
On Friday the 13th of December, 2024, I got my first DUI in California.
In the unshakeable extremity of survival, I faced a choice to stay trapped in a fixed mindset and go back to the life of darkness or rise with an exhilarating force of growth. That fight became my anchor. Instead of continuing on my “Path of Wrath” I decided to turn my life around and enrolled in college.
With driving determination, I discovered the Basic Needs Center at Solano Community College. This is not just a program, but a lifeline. A bridge carved out of compassion. That bridge led me to River Trail Village and the Basic Needs department at Solano Community College funded the move. Next month, I will start paying rent at a reasonable cost.
River Trail Village, located in Napa, is not simply housing. It’s the steel backbone of student resilience, and the “Heartbeat of Hope.” For students like me, it’s the difference between collapse and stability, between fading dreams and a future still within reach.
When the dorm key was placed in my hand, it became a weapon against despair, like a compass pointing towards possibility. With trembling fingers I held it knowing it carried more than entry into a building. It carried the weight of every battle I had fought to stand on that threshold. River Trail opened the door, as I entered my destiny.
For me, it answered the question that interrupted every sleepless night: Is there a doorway out of nowhere? Yes, and for me that doorway is River Trail Village. This is my fierce and fearless testament, turning struggle into survival, and survival into triumph.