Fifteen years ago, I felt so alone and hopeless. I worked so hard to dig myself out of the hole that others had dug for me.

Fifteen years ago, I could barely speak! And that wasn't my fault! I now have a better command of the spoken English language than my brother who got everything on a goddamned silver platter does. You don't know how hard I've hard to work.

My parents used to say that I was jealous of my brother. Let's just call my brother "Chugs." Anyway, they would push that notion as if it was a goddamned fact. Oh, yeah, I'm resentful, but not in the ways that my parents have thought I've been.

I pushed myself so hard all the damn time...and for what? To see that leaving that house was impossible? That if I'd even TRY, then I'd be stuffed in a police van in front of the Time Warner Center?

I've seen shit, man. Yes, this has affected my personal relationships...but not with my best friend. She'll care about me no matter what. Sigh...now that I've actually fostered friendships, I decided to try to look for romance. Mr. Wordy McWordiness here gets people to block him or to ghost him.

I pushed myself past the point of exhaustion so many times. Everything felt so useless living at my parents' house, but I still tried so hard. I got those four IT certifications, and even a friend from the past told me, "You worked your ass off getting those certifications!"

After eleven years at that community college, they not only sent me a diploma for having graduated, but a Certificate of Academic Excellence, too. Not long before I graduated, they featured me on their website and their social media channels.

I'm not only a survivor. I'm a winner.