Hi there my name is Sam I live in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania currently and this last year has been one of the hardest experiences of my life. I finally peeled away the mask that I didn't even realize I had been wearing for about 30 years and during that time I relapsed and it was awful as someone who has relapsed many times before there was something just so different and vindictive and powerless/powerful all at once with this one. At the same time my relationship of mine ended of about 4 years, though we did end up relapsing together. I went off to get clean we had planned to reconcile our relationship but we both needed to be clean first and when I came back I realized you know his journey is not mine and we were taking completely different paths yet we decided to stay together anyway. I feel as though I may never recover my voice lost forever from all the screaming I've had to do because we have been just so far away from each other for so long. That being said I am completely relearning who I am how to exist in this world I have not drank in over 8 months and that is huge considering a huge part of my socializing in my selected family revolves around going to bars and partying. I don't miss drinking at all though and it is something I wish I did a lot sooner and I have learned that I'm still able to do things that I once did I just am sober now. Anyways I'm reading the books I'm journaling the journals I'm working the works and I just I need more I need to find a direct path right now I feel as though I have grown a few extra limbs and I am walking or touching or using these extra limbs all at once and it's exhausting that being said this community already seems great, I love school it offers more than I ever could imagine and I'm excited to see where my