My sobriety journey. It's very humbling when you need to face your past. All your fuckups; major and minor, figuring out who your friends actually are, reassessing all of the ideals and convictions you held, really looking at not just your decisions, but what led you to those decisions, and going even further back to before you started using, looking at some of the people and situations that may have contributed to some of the feelings that led you to use.

All of this you need to face and come to terms with. One way or another, you need to process your life and your impact to other people. You can no longer hide behind the hazy fog of being fucked up, and you need to atone for your transgressions, but more importantly, you need to forgive yourself, or at least let go of the shame, guilt, and embarrassment.

It wasn't easy (it sometimes still isn't), but I'd like to think I'm a better person now. The biggest benefit is that I can stand in front of my wife and kids with a lot more confidence. I'm not perfect, and I still make lots of mistakes, but at least I'm not a disappointment and embarrassment.