“Life isn’t about the money you make or your status in public.  It’s about the friends you make and the journey you take to get there.”

There is a unique quality among survivors, those who have gone through the hardest of life’s trials and not only persevere but live every day with hope for the future. We recognize in each other a deep understanding of what it is like to beat the odds. I recognized this immediately in my first conversation with Blair. Unfortunately, Blair was given a bad hand in the game of life. He was born into a dysfunctional family and, through experiencing adverse childhood experiences that led to trauma, he had already doubled his risk of substance abuse later in life.

Blair, like so many others, became a statistic of over 50% of Americans who struggle with substance abuse problems. He leaned on substances as a coping mechanism to handle the death of his father and his grandparents. At 21 years old, he was diagnosed with autism after struggling through school to understand why his tendencies differed from his classmates.

Blair’s father and stepmother created a hostile home environment, where he lived until his father passed away. After his father’s death, he moved in with his mother and eventually found Makom. He credits Makom with providing the space and time he needed to receive help after struggling for so long.

Many individuals who have been hurt choose to bury their past and forget about the open wounds that they have never taken the time to heal. However, Blair demonstrates the courage in vulnerability and the personal work that it takes to fully heal. Rather than hiding his past, Blair has chosen to become an advocate for substance abuse education in the Montgomery County school system. He travels to the local middle and high schools to speak about how stress causes emotions. Emotions create a need for comfort, and comfort can come from the source of substances. He educates how to recognize and break these cycles, but moreover, he is a kind ear to hear the pain of so many students who have been unable to speak about their struggles.

He wishes that this program had come earlier. Maybe then he would not have fallen into substance abuse. However, rather than dwell in the “what ifs”, he chooses to focus on the present. He expresses gratitude towards Makom for giving him the space to heal and hope for the future where he wants to pursue a degree in journalism.

Credit is not given enough to individuals whose stories aren’t “pretty” or fit the mold of what an inspirational story “should” look like. That is the most amazing part of life. You are not defined by your past; the choices you make after are what writes your story.