In life you have the opportunity to do whatever you want. But with every action comes consequences that may not always affect you personally, but can affect the ones you’re surrounded by.
When I was 10 years old, my mother got sick and had to move into a nursing home, leaving my Dad to raise my sister and I by himself. By the time I turned 11, my father’s anger and depression had taken him over. I was mentally and physically abused every day. I was told that I was nothing but a loser and that I would never be anything in life. As time went on, I grew angry and started to act out in ways children should not behave. I started smoking cigarettes, roaming the streets, and stealing from grocery stores just to eat. By age 12, I had to start working. I cut grass and raked leaves to earn money to pay our power bill so that my sister and I would have heat to make it through the winter. At age 13, I found myself in an extremely dark place, contemplating suicide and believing that I was a loser and couldn’t do anything!
My life changed forever when I was 14. I was given a chance to live the life I hadn’t had, a life all children should have the opportunity to live. In that moment, I met the greatest people in the world – the staff at Big Oak Ranch! During my time at Big Oak Ranch, I learned so much! I learned how it was to feel like most other children my age felt, to feel a part of something real. I was given the best set of parents a child could ask for to help me along my journey, step by step. They helped me realize that I could turn my CAN’TS into CANS, and how that would push me to go the extra MILE and be able to do anything I put my mind to. That not only was I not the loser I had been told so many times up to this point in life that I was – but losing was nowhere in my future!
Big Oak Ranch molded me into becoming the man I am today! To being the best husband to my wife, by letting God be the center of our marriage. To being the best father to our twin boys and our daughter, by showing me unconditional love and having so many positive influences in my life!
So, to every staff member of Big Oak Ranch, thank you for giving me a second chance and believing in me to break the cycle! To every person who has ever donated, served, and given in any way, thank you for making this a reality for so many children!
