[ WP ] Write your heart onto your sleeve , Reddit .

Your parents are supposed to take care of you. Mine were too busy cooking meth. They got arrested when I was seven. At that point in my life, I thought it was weird that you could n't see my rib cage and that I did n't have sores on my arms and face. My house always smelled like ammonia, and I was n't allowed to have friends. Do n't get me wrong, my parents made good money so I had plenty to eat, but I grew up in a drug den. After my parents were arrested, I went to live with my Grandma. I was in a `` safer'' environment, but she was extremely abusive. Always telling me that I was a worthless freeloader, and I was killing her. She died when I was nine and I honestly believed I had killed her because she had ground that into my psyche. I went from foster home to foster home for 7 years. I honestly thought I was just a worthless non-entity because no teachers, foster parents, even my caseworker showed any interest in me at all. I had become extremely cynical, depressed, and wrestled with suicide almost daily because, What was the point in living? nobody cared about me, everyone seemed to think I was a waste of space. I started using painkillers pretty heavily when I was fifteen, up until I overdosed and was in the hospital for a week. After that, I was admitted to a mental hospital. It was a life-changing experience. For the first time in my life, someone showed some interest in me. A nurse their always requested to work with me. she helped me catch up in reading ( at the time, I had a fourth grade reading level ), math, science. She went way above and beyond her job to help me and show me that I was worth something. When I turned 18, I was transferred to an adult facility. I was heartbroken. I was being forced to leave the only person who had cared about me at all in my life. When I got to the new facility, I got to my new room to find that all of my favorite books and music were already there as well as a framed picture of us together. Her and her husband had had bought all of those things brand new and pulled some strings to get them there before I did. I broke down in tears. I was n't sure if I would get to see her again. Lori was the closest thing I had to a mother and I thought we were separated forever. As it turns out, we were not separated forever. I just had no idea how the outside world worked. She came to visit every weekend and occasionally got day-passes so we could go to science museums, parks, the Tulsa zoo. I was released at nineteen. her husband okay'd me moving in with them even though he was uncomfortable with the idea of a nut case living with them. They made a lot of sacrifices to make sure that I could get the academic help I needed so that I could lead a decent life. I got my academics caught up within a year, because I worked my ass off so I would n't let them down. After I got my GED, I applied to college. I got denied. I was absolutely heartbroken. I started drinking. I'm not proud of it, but I made some mistakes. I got pulled over while drunk and got a DUI. I did n't go to jail, but my new `` parents'' payed all my expenses and court fees. After that, I left. I could tell that Lori's husband had grown tired of dealing with my breakdowns, and footing my bill. I was extremely thankful for everything they had done for me, but I could n't keep putting them through this after everything they had done for me. So I left the only home I knew and went on my `` grand adventure''. And by that I mean I went two counties over and got a job on a ranch shoveling shit. I did n't make much money, but I made enough to get by. The farmer who I worked for was named Brent. He was a good guy, and a hard worker, but he made it clear that we had a working relationship and that is all it would ever be. After a few months of working for him, he came and hunted me down while I was feeding cattle. He told me that he had found me a better job. A guy he knew that worked at OSU needed some help with a small cattle operation in Stillwater. I thanked him, he told me it had been a pleasure to work with me and sent me on my way. When I got to Stillwater, I started to work for Carter. He was a... unique... individual. He was apparently high up in the ag department at OSU. We talked about school and my past and future on lunch breaks and any down-time we had. he let me know that I could sit in on classes at the university for free. So When I was n't working, I would go sit in on algebra classes, English and government classes, and a few science classes. I would do all the homework, and talked to some of the professors, and some of them agreed to grade my work and work with me after hours. Some of them were pretty hard to understand, but after a while I began to get pretty good at understanding peoples accents. After a semester of this, I took my A.C.T. I scored a 24. While It was n't great, I finally got accepted to college!!!!!! With my Oklahoma's Promise scholarship, I could actually afford to go to college full time with my current job. My first semester just ended, and I have a 2.5 GPA. I was overjoyed!! I've contacted Lori and Jeff just to check in and let them know I was doing well, And they were so happy to hear that I was doing well! It turns out Jeff was n't actually angry, with me, he was just disheartened. They offered to help pay for my college, but I told them I could n't accept anything else from them. She is coming down to visit next weekend and we are going out for lunch. They said they were going to get me a motorcycle so I could get around better, and there was nothing I could do to stop them. These people, after I betrayed their trust, wasted their money, and then left without saying goodbye, still care for me and look out for me. I am on the road to success and I am truly happy. 
 
 **This story is a work of fiction. It does however analog real life experiences. The story is based loosely on the life of a friend of mine. This is my first real attempt at writing, so critique is welcome. **
