"Hitting rock bottom" has been the most stressful, depressing, and most of all, unforgettable time in my life. I believe, if it were not for the true hardships that I have encountered in my life, I would not value or appreciate what I have today. Furthermore, I believe the saying of "this will make you or break you", truly applies to facing hardships in your life. Some learn from the experience and some don't. I know I have.

Like many teenagers, I did not have the best relationship with my parents. For the most part, I did what I was told to do and got thru high school as expected of me. Once I had completed high school and returned home from basic training for the Air Force to pursue my career and attend college, I felt that I was grown now and no longer had to abide by my parents rules. Since I was still living with them, and refused to live by their rules, my parents told me to pack my bags up and leave. This is where it all began.

I packed my things up and had no where to go. I called some relatives and no one had the room to take me in. I ended up spending a couple nights on the beach. Finally, a couple days went by and I got a hold of a friend that let me in. Unfortunately, he had a family of his own and could not do much more then that to help me. That night I remember crying myself to sleep wandering what I would do to put my life together. I came to the conclusion, that I would not let my life fall apart.

The next day, I started my venture to look for a job. I had to get one in the area because I had no vehicle to take me to and from work. I ended up working at a local restaurant as a server. After a couple weeks on the job, I realized I needed to do more in order to make a better life for myself. I worked countless hours of overtime so that I was able to purchase a car. I ended up purchasing a car that has been very dependable and is still today. Although I had purchased a car and now had a mode of transportation, I was still struggling to make ends meet. After much thought, I realized that there was not much of an opportunity for me in Hawaii, nor will there ever be. That is when I decided to look into other places that I could relocate to, in order to make a better living. I decided that I needed to find somewhere that would have 3 things to accommodate me best. I needed a reasonably priced place to stay, a job that would pay for my bills and some extra money as well, and a place where there would be a Air National Guard unit that I would be able to transfer to.

I searched online and after many hours of research, I had decided on St. Louis, Missouri. I decided on that location because I had found a place on roommate.com, where I could stay for $400/month including all utilities, my landlord also had a friend who owned a high end Italian restaurant and hiring for servers, and St. Louis had a Air National Guard unit that I would be able to transfer to. For the next couple months, I worked 3 jobs, with 4 hours of sleep everyday to save enough money to be able to move there.

After I moved to St. Louis, more opportunities had presented themselves. Eventually, I ended up in Phoenix, Arizona where I acquired a very well paying job. Making more money then I ever thought I would be at the age of 21. I eventually worked my way up to where I am today. Making even more money, managing those that are twice my age, and putting myself thru school all by myself. I am very pleased with the outcome of everything. This is why I believe, if it were not for the hardship that I had gone thru in my life, I would not value nor appreciate what I have today.

Learn more about this author, Ashley Gassman.
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