From addiction to true happiness. My Splinterlands story

To tell my Splinterlands story we need to back up about 13 years, back to when I was 16 years old. At that time in my life I had just received my Drivers License and my very first job at McDonalds. This may sound like a weird place to start this story, but I believe this job was the start of a chain reaction that lead me to Splinterlands and where I am at today. My very first job, McDonalds, I was so excited to start making my own money and being able to buy the games and anything else I wanted for myself! However, I didn't think that this job would turn me into a drug addict as quick as it did. At 16 years old I was introduced to a drug called Percocet by my coworkers. I have always had an addictive personality so from the very first time I tried this drug I was addicted. I did not think at that time that trying that one Percocet would lead me down a path of pain, sorrow, regret, remorse and embarassment the way it did. I was way wrong. As I said, that first pill got me completely addicted at 16 years old to pills. Somehow, I made my way through highschool and culinary school with this addiction and was able to graduate from both. I thought to myself that once I went to college I would be forced to stop using and be okay moving forward, again I was dead wrong. Halfway through my first semester of college I was still using the pills and I had officially run out of the pills. Feeling sick from withdrawal and not being able to find any of the pills I wanted I was introduced to Heroin. I had always told myself and everyone else I would NEVER be that guy that used heroin, but when you are sick, sweating, freezing, shaking, not being able to sleep or focus, you will do anything to stop those feelings. So I decided to try it just to help alleviate the withdrawal symptoms. It worked as advertised and then some, so from that one little baggy I became addicted to heroin.
I will not bore you with all the details of the past 10 years of me using heroin but I will give you a quick highlight of those years. The addiction took me to places I never thought I would be. I stole from friends, I stole from family, I lied to everyone and took advantage of anyone that would allow me to do so. I went to rehab more than ten times, almost every time relapsing as soon as I completed. I went to Florida to rehabs hoping being away from my stomping grounds would allow me to stay clean... I ended up in a car accident and because of that accident I started using needles to get high. After that started I decided to come back to my home town, because of that decision I ended up in jail. Jail didnt keep me clean either, after being in jail for months I got out and did stay clean for a few months but I ended up going back to the drugs again. This all occured and went on til I was about 25 years old. When I hit the age of 25 I met a woman that I fell in love with, COMPLETELY head over heels for this woman. I didn't want her to know about my using when we firwst met so I forced myself to stay clean for the first few months her and I were together. We were unseperable she was the literal woman of my dreams. After about 5 months of dating I told her about my past and told her I was getting urges to go back to that life. I ended up talking her into allowing me to use and from then on out I was back on it. Our relationship was going well and at some point we decided to start trying for a child. After numerous failed attempts we realized one of us was unable to conceive. Finding this out started a small wedge between us. I made that wedge bigger and bigger the longer I continued to use. It didn't take long for me to drive us completely apart. I chose the drug over her, and still to this day is the worst mistake of my life. We parted ways and haven't seen each other since.
After we parted I went back into using hard and after another year I decided I wanted to get clean for me. This was a huge decision as I never wanted to get clean for myself it was always for my family or someone else so I believe that is why I was never able to stay clean for very long. After enough time I put myself into a rehab for the last time. I stayed there for 99 days and completed this program. It was the best rehab mentally wise that I have ever been to. I did not mind making myself stay for 3 months so I could work out the majority of my issues about using. When I completed the program my brother and his wife were willing to take me in while I got up on my feet again. The blessing of having them take me when I would have had no where else to go has been a godsend that I will always appreciate them for. I stayed clean for the next 9 months that I lived with them. I was working and starting to get back into a normal routine when I realized that my being there was not working out anymore. They had my niece and I felt like they needed to be a family on their own without me living there. So I decided to move out.
9 months clean moving into an apartment I was no longer working. I had some money saved and the clean time to go along with it. So as I was sitting in the apartment one day I decided to look up a bunch of different ways to earn money from home. Over the next three months I did research upon research to see what would be the best and most profitable ways to earn that money from home. It was right around my one year anniversary of being clean and sober that I stumbled upon Splinterlands. I was never a big card game person but something about the look and style of play for this game caught my eye. With not much money left in my savings and the few odd things that I were doing for money left I decided to give this game a shot. I bought myself about 10 packs and jumped in to this game face first.
From my first battle I was hooked, even though it was a loss. There was something about this game that just pulled me in. Over the next two months I studied the game and put whatever extra cash I had into it. Battle after battle, pack after pack I was falling more and more in love with it. All the different strategies, the way I could earn money for playing it all was just so mesmerizing. After about three months of playing it I had my first true battle within myself of relapse. Some past memories came back with a vengeance to try to take me back out to the streets. I had talked to everyone I knew about it to try to help me not relapse to no avail. So my last true effort to stop this from happening was to dive into this game even harder. So I started streaming for this awesome Splinterlands community and the amount of love and kindness I found within that community was the true savior of me that day. Seeing everyone that was enjoying my streams and helping me out within the game gave me the confidence back that I had recently lost. I seen that Splinterlands was looking for some independent contract streamers and decided to apply knowing that I did not have t he best chance of getting that job. Through a lot of time and effort I was able to come up with the money to buy myself a true gaming computer for my interview with Splinterlands Stream Team leader RonDon. I could have took that money and went back out on the streets and myself back to the false confidence of what the drugs gave me, but having been mentally and physically invested in this game I could not do that to myself or my family. By the grace of god I was accepted on to Splinterlands stream team. This was one of my dreams come true, I always wanted to start streaming and make a career out of it but I never had the true confidence in myself to do so. Splinterlands has given me that confidence back that I haven't had for over 12 years. It has brought back true happiness and being able to laugh and smile and mess around like I had as a young adult. I really have a lot to show now in my life because of this game and the community surrounding this game. I have a true shot at making my full time job being a streamer and playing games, just having that as an option to me is insane!
I have recently decided to start streaming 6 days our of the week and will be looking to add more time on to each day as I go. I know this might sound weird to some people that don't know this game or the community surrounding it, but Splinterlands has TRULY helped me stay clean and sober and has given me a great opportunity with a new career path. Today 10/24/2022 I am One Year, Six months and seventeen days CLEAN AND SOBER! I am happy and I am proud of myself for how far I have come in the past two years. I say it a lot but I truly do love each and every one of you and I appreciate you all taking the time to read my boring story. I hope it shows you just a bit of the light that comes from this game when you think you are surrounded by darkness. Thank you Splinterlands. Truly, thank you all. <3 :)