CODY

PHOTO BY RANDY BACON

CODY

“Now I Can Live Life”

I’ve always been a good person, but my life has always been difficult. My father and some other family members were heavy alcoholics and they had really bad anger issues. I grew up with a really angry family. I tried to always keep a smile on my face, and I got through it.

I got bullied pretty severely at my school. I don’t know why. I played football and took a lot of art classes. I was always really outgoing. But for some reason, there were these kids that were attacking me all the time. So, I eventually switched schools, which I thought would be a blessing. Not even two weeks later a guy in my class wanted to study algebra with me. At the time I had never smoked a cigarette or drank or done anything. I went over to his house, and I tried my first joint. I had underlying mental health problems that I didn’t understand when I was younger, and that depression fueled my experimental phase with drugs and alcohol.

I was pulled into a lifestyle that took me to some very dark places. I was an alcoholic. I spent long periods of time living on the streets, not knowing when my next meal would be. I almost died many times homeless- I got frostbite because I fell asleep drunk in a snowstorm. I stole a shotgun thinking I was going to sell it and use the money to get off the street. I ended up getting a felony conviction for that, and it actually saved my life.

I went to jail for 8 months and at my last court date I actually asked the judge if I could stay in jail longer because I didn’t want to be homeless anymore. The judge agreed to keep me in jail until I was allowed to go under the supervision of Burrell Services. Once I got into Burrell, I stuck with it. The Big Book of AA sys that, “your wildest dreams will come true once you dedicate yourself to sobriety” ...and now my wildest dreams are coming true. I’m an artist and being a part of this project is one of those wildest dream come true moments. I have an awesome job now. I’m living the life I’ve always dreamed of. Burrell has helped me develop tools to cope. It’s almost like being a superhero having powers to stop super villains. My super villains are addiction and severe depression, and now I can live my life.