So, you’re probably wondering what happened. Well, before I tell you about the Nexus event let me bring you up to speed. I will be sharing with you what I’ve been up to before the event, and after. Pay attention and who knows you might learn something or be inspired by.

Before The Event (Jan. — Apr.)

Our story begins with the start of the year. You’d typically know how the start of any year usually goes. There are the promises, the plans you have in your head that you want to execute, yearly goals, etc. Well, my start was more practical in a sense. See, If you haven’t known, I dropped out of school in late 2021. It was hard, especially having to reconcile with the fact I can’t sustain myself anymore due to bad choices, life circumstances, etc. Last year I wanted to go back and finish my education. So over the summer, I decided to start a GoFundMe and it was a success.

With the money, I was able to pay the necessary bills to go and register for classes. I chose the winter semester. My decision came after much thinking about whether I should start late in the fall. I was a bit impatient and wanted to get started right away but coming in late in the semester would’ve been challenging. Were there different parts of the semester where I could’ve started? Absolutely. But, I decided to try and give myself the time necessary to prepare myself to go back to college.

School & Plot Twists

So, January came and so began the start of my year. Since I was back with family in Ohio I registered for online classes. This would be easier on me, giving me the flexibility to work on projects whenever. During this time, I would be trying to network where I can. That meant participating in online networking events, finding mentors, and doing work that didn’t pay but improved my skills.

During this time, I found opportunities that related to my major. I found work in a student-led game studio based out of the University Of Michigan, marketing work for up-and-coming devs before taking a break from the position, planning out some work in my position with the DA3, and some side projects.

However, you know how life gets. Even when there’s a rainbow, a cloud will soon follow and a cloud sure did follow. A man who has been with my mom and our family for the past 11 years, who became like another father to me, decided to leave us in an explosive fashion I would say. It soon was revealed after he left us to go to another place that he stole money from us all this time, and had us take on unnecessary bills. It hurt us immensely, and we’ve been trying to pick ourselves up ever since.

Luckily, we were able to get help with paying bills for at least two months. But, we still have a ways to go. My brothers and I contribute when we can. We try our best to help Mom and make things easier for her. However, I can’t help but feel I should be doing more than what I’m doing especially with how much of a complacent, lazy bastard I’ve been.

Despite the twists and turns, I was able to pass this semester. I ended with a 3.6 GPA and made it on the dean’s list for my college. I couldn’t be more proud of myself and one of my professors reached out. The opportunity would be to showcase one of my papers for the Undergraduate Symposium. I would have to wait till next semester and reach out to the professor again.

During this time, there was another series of twists and turns, which was me getting a few health scares. They were significant enough to push me into consistently exercising. But I need to build up to it, so I decided to go on runs, and gradually craft an exercise around that. I still have a ways to go, but I’m making progress.

After The Event (May — Present)

Now, we can finally talk about my Nexus event. This point is where my summer will change….at least for a time. If you read from the last section, I was going on runs. One of those runs was when the event happened.

How did it happen? like any other story with a broken anything it started menial. It was early morning on Memorial Day, and I was getting ready for the start of the day. I decided to go out for my run. A quarter of the way through my run I see a guy walking the other way. I immediately switched to the left side to run around him, and as I got past him I stepped down on the sidewalk hard. The sidewalk had a bit of raised gravel, and after that were major cracks.

My foot immediately started to roll, and the pain was excruciating. It was a sharp pain, and felt something wrong with my foot. I tried running on it and then walking. The pain was too great and decided to limp back home. It was a bit grueling, especially considering my phone was at home charging. It was a bit of a limp back, and when I got home I started administering the RICE method (Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate).

I soon told my mom, and went to urgent care. We were there for some time and soon got the results that my foot was broken. I was placed in a boot, and given crutches. Since then, I’ve been doing the method, and keeping myself relatively sane. I also recently visited an Orthopedic doctor, who told me that I don’t need surgery and can start walking on my foot with a boot.

Being resorted to resting, and trying to move around in my crutches, and boot has given me a lot to think about. Ranging from the future to what I can do now with the state I’m in. It has forced me to think about where I want to go and be mindful of what I do when it comes to the work I’m trying to do, what I do with my body, and more. I can’t allow fate to overshadow my potential destiny, and it’s time that I don’t be afraid of it.

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