“I picked up the pieces and made a new puzzle.”
In 2013 I was walking down the sidewalk and a driver ran over the curb and hit me. I incurred a lot of damage, a lot of injuries and a lot of medical bills. What ended up happening was, I was a full-time mechanic with a really good job. I lost everything I owned basically. I owed $100,000 to the hospital. She didn’t have any money, no insurance, no nothing. There wasn’t anything I could do. I obviously had a lawyer, did everything. What ended up happening was I spent three months not working. I tried to go back to work and couldn’t because I got hit in the back. I was a mechanic, you need your back right. I decided what am I going to do? For a quality of life what do I do? I decided to go back to school and get a degree and find a career that I can actually do.
That was two years ago now I’m actually transferring to Cal State Fullerton. I’m looking to get accepted. I’ll probably get accepted. I’ve gotten straight A’s the past three semesters. It’s interesting going back to school at 30. It’s so empowering. I love it. I love wanting to be there. I love being myself. And now I have so much more confidence than I did when I was 18. I know what I want to do and I’m really passionate about doing it and even if it’s just going to school and learning. I’ve built so many relationships in my career that now everyone wants to help me in my time of need, anything I need. It’s really really great.
So as awful that experience was getting hit by the car, I still have injuries to this day, I still have issues but it’s probably one of the best things that have happened to me. It sets me off on this new path. I picked up the pieces and made a new puzzle. You can’t go wrong. You can’t let things keep you down. I was a pretty successful guy making pretty decent money doing something that I really loved and to have that taken away from you for no reason of your own and then to come out of it bigger, better than you were before I think is really special.
When I was little I had a Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street. My father bought it for me when I was three. I carried it until I was 13 and I have no idea what happened to it. It was decrepit. It’s insides were all gone it just had the nose, a trunk full of stuffing. I probably would give anything to have that back in my life. Just to have it not that I need. It’s funny how a stuffed animal can mean so much. Your bear speaks to me.