My journey may confound some people; As a kid, I wasn't sure where I fit into life. I sometimes got into trouble at school, but I was also an Eagle Scout. The biggest issue that I faced was choosing to use drugs after high school. That lead to more bad choices, and eventually, I did a bunch of dumb stuff to go to prison. Of course, I regret that, but I don't regret what I learned while I was there. I grew up. I started taking responsibility for my choices and committed myself to being better. Education was one of the greatest things that I did in my life. Books and knowledge gave me perspective, and I lived a thousand lives through others' writing. I gained new perspectives and hope flourished in a hopeless place. I spent 15 years working on myself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. But nothing could prepare me for the shock of getting out and starting my life over. At first, I was really worried about what the past meant for my future, yet I was determined to be and do better. I'm sure people can imagine what it is like starting over, but not everyone may realize how hard it is to find a place to live or a job that will support someone with a record. I spent over $500.00 in application fees to simply be turned down for a place because of my past. They didn't care that I had the deposit, that I was at the same job for over 9 months at the time (Still there nearly today), or that the crimes I committed were nearly 20 years ago. I started at my current job as a temporary laborer. They basically just wanted someone to lift heavy things and move them from one place to another. The progress of my work life was fortunate. They eventually let me start building things and then realized I pay attention to details and am smart so they hired me on to the company and made me a quality control inspector. After doing that for a while and stepping up to pitch in when my boss was sick, they saw that I had potential and moved me into the office. Project managing has been a journey of its own. After getting out in 2019 I immediately applied to attend the University of Utah. In 2020, I bought my first house. Later that year I saw the opportunity to rent it out, and my former struggles to find housing lead me to create Valjeans Foundation, (named after Jean Valjean the reformed criminal from Les Miserables, Saint of Second Chances). Since then, I graduated college and have been helping people overcome the adversity involved with getting out. If you would like to help please visit: https://valjeansfoundation.org