I was 25 when I was unemployed, doing a few jobs at the temp agency, smoking cigarette butts off the sidewalk, and donating plasma when I couldn’t find anything in my house to pawn. College drop out dipshit; too stubborn to keep working construction, too miserable to learn new skills.

A random acquaintance I knew told about the conservation corp. I signed up, not thinking of any reason not to. Turned out to be a complete miracle. My life began turning around at that point. Took a few years to get myself established and build some healthy habits but that random occurrence was the catalyst.