A Break From Bad Habits
My Travel Story
I live in a small town near the heart of Indiana. Recently I went on a vacation to California to complete a life long dream of mine - driving across up the California Coast and crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.
I've lived a fairly decent life by many standards, but it's not been great by others. There's enough truama in my life to line the pages of a book, but I don't wish to linger too much on the past, only the future.
Recently, I began my upper education at a local community college after a two year drug binge to prove to myself I hadn't ruined the brain I was blessed with. As a child, I was pulled out of public school and isolated from the outside world. My education stopped until age 14 and I finally threatened to call CPS if my mother didn't allow me to attend school for an education. Freshmen year was difficult for me and I spent nearly all year staying after class to catch up. I ended up graduating highschool with a 4.0.
I tell you this because during these last few years I've feared that my educational apitude had taken damage from multiple years of drug use, however, my first semester of college I made the Deans list. Unfortunately, due to finacial hardships, I had to drop out.
Feeling lost and suicidal, I took a vacation I couldnt afford to California to see the things I've always drempt of seeing. I brought my closeet highschool friend with me, where she continued to badger and belittle me, telling me how she couldnt tolerate me sober, and basically forced me to get high. We spent about 5 minutes at the beach, and maybe 15 at the Golden Gate Bridge, other then that, she made the whole trip about herself. I sat alone in my hotel room most of the time as she went out and got a tattoo, and refused to dine anywhere I wanted to dine, and walked around malls I didn't want to go to, as I had very little money to spare after purchasing our plane tickets and hotel rooms. What was meant to be a break from years of bad habits has turned into feelings of despair, anxiety, and has left a huge hole in my heart. Empty spaces, and quietness between conversations echo with "you're too much handle sober" "you're annoying" "you're not enough"
I've begun distancing myself from all of the toxic friendships that have been formed over the years, and have been practicing mindfulness, meditation, and positive affirmations. I now find myself a couple months away from a renewed chance at college where I plan on majoring in Philosophy, Political Science and Economics. I plan on using my degrees to attend law school where I'll have a focus on immigration law - I believe immigration is the only honest line of Law, as I won't ever have to represent guilty clients, just those who are seeking a better life here in America.
I know my continuing education will hinder all chances at decent vacations in the future, and finacially it'll be tight. I'm here asking for help funding a new vacation from bad habits, one I will tackle alone as I overcome my demons and have a chance to see all the beauty the western United States has to offer. It's my hope to reconnect with myself, and truly have a life changing experience as I see the Hoover Dam with my own eyes, or watch Old Faithful shoot water hundereds off feet into the air. Yosemite and Zions National Parks have sights worth living to remember the sight of.
Any contribution would be tremendously helpful given my circumstances. You can rest assured that any amount of money given will go towards helping a young man find himself in life, and giving him memories worth living with. Sometimes we need people to take chances on us, and that's why I'm here - looking for someone to take a chance on me.
If nothing else, please leave a kind word or two.
Thank you for your time,
-Alan Cunningham
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Campaign Ended
$ 0 USD
Total Donation Received-
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Funded -
$ 4,200 USD
Goal Amount -
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Days Left
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Cost Calculator
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Driving/car camping
$ 3,000
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Time away from work
$ 1,200
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Donor Rewards
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25 USD
I will take a selfie or short video doing anything travel related and give you a shoutout
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