The long way here
Some people go straight from A to B. I took the scenic route — and it taught me more than any straight line ever could.
I grew up in Highland Springs, in a blue-collar corner of Richmond where money was tight and nobody handed you anything. By my twenties I'd lost my footing to substance abuse — I spent time homeless, and I did real damage before I found my way out. In 2009 I got clean, and I've stayed that way ever since. It's the hardest thing I've ever done and the thing I'm proudest of.
What came next, I built one honest day at a time. I started a family. I ran a local Richmond cab company — long hours, real customers, learning a business from the inside. From there I worked my way into a corporate role at Amazon, and from there into the career I have now, as an IT professional.
None of it was luck. It was the same handful of habits, applied over and over: show up when it's uncomfortable, tell the truth about where things actually stand, ask for help before problems get big, and keep promises small enough to keep. Those are the skills that rebuild a life — and, it turns out, the same ones that make someone good at managing projects and earning back trust.
Today I get to put all of it to work. I manage IT projects for a living, I taught myself to code, and I started RVA Digital Works to help local Richmond businesses get found online. I still show up early, still write things down, and still believe the best thing you can build is a reputation for doing what you said you'd do.
Richmond, Virginia · still here, still grateful