My life before steemit?

Where do I start? I've had a crazy life. It started off fairly typically. When I got to college is where things started to get crazy. I took a lot of psychedelic drugs and, perhaps due to a genetic predisposition for mental illness, I eventually became so affected by them that I started to develop symptoms of schizophrenia.

I came to believe I was a shaman or bodhisattva with a direct connection to God whose purpose was to elevate humanity into a more understanding and compassionate world. In an attempt to continue my mission (which involved a lot of partying as this was the best way to raise the consciousness), I dropped out of school. Despite being originally accepted into an exclusive dual-degree engineering program, I couldn't muster with what I believed to be the corrupt university I had been attending.

Somehow being fired from multiple jobs, despite being 'qualified' for them, didn't ring any bells as I continued to believe in my special place in the universe. I was able to hold onto a very, very crappy job on the graveyard shift at a local diner but staying up all night only added to my problems. (To get an idea of how bad this place was they continued to employ me for two years while I believed myself to be a prophet. Guess I was better than the racist night manager who made me take all her African-American customers because she didn't want to deal with them). I was later told that people were very concerned I had gone over the edge and would never come back.

I stopped working to attend community college. Once that was done, I couldn't bring myself to go back to my diner job and I was going crazy living with my parents so I became homeless. This was a rather miserable time in my life, right around Occupy Wall Street. I suppose lot's of people were feeling pain at that point, as the Great Recession was still in its throes, but I was so caught up in my own little world of self-importance and self-sabotage that I couldn't really see it. I cut myself off from everyone and everything in my life and lived in the forest.

After not being able to stand it for any longer, I used some money grandma had set aside and went back to school, if only so I could get a roof over my head. I was, of course, still miserable there as I hadn't gone back because I was actually interested in learning, but more because it was a way to access rent money. By that time, I had realized that there was probably something wrong with me and I didn't bother trying to get a normal job any more.

Eventually I ended up back at my University and finished my degree! It was in Environmental Studies. While I believe in the philosophy around it in terms of working towards a world that is sustainable for both humans and the environment, I hated studying it. The only reason why I got my degree in it was because by the time I tried to change my major I had already accumulated too many credits and was told I was out of luck. So, I went ahead and graduated, a mere 10 years after I first started school.

I worked for a while at an amusement park but I kept getting kicked out of housing situations because my roomates thought I was too weird or something.

I became homeless, again. Unable to reconcile sleeping on my little brother's couch any longer, I set out onto the road again. I eventually made my way down to L.A. based on a whim. I had no money and no plan and made a camp about 100 yards from where the bus dropped me off in Burbank, CA. It was spring, but it was also L.A. So, when I wasn't getting rained on and having my sleeping bag completely soaked, I was having to walk around in 90 degree heat to get the resources I required. Fortunately, I was able to get food stamps after I maxed out my credit card trying to survive. It's very easy to spend a lot of time in Starbucks in L.A. anyway, but trying to stay out of the heat, get wifi (I somehow managed to keep my laptop on me the entire time I was homeless down there), and feed my addiction to caffeine meant I spent A LOT of time in Starbucks.

Despite the abundance of homeless people in L.A. (which was counted at ~47000 in 2016 but is almost certainly more than that, as there are countless people who live out of their car and make an effort to shower, etc. and you would never guess they were homeless when you walk past them in the street) I didn't make any friends. I tried to apply to a few jobs, but nothing got going. So, I called my parents and said I wanted to come home.

Their willingness to take me in was a blessing but my inability to communicate my needs meant I took off, again, not long after, due to being uncomfortable.

I ended up living with my brother's ex-girlfriend in Northern California (weird, I know) but I haven't been able to find steady work here.

How you introduced to steemit?

I was introduced to steemit by seeing Facebook friends posting their stories there. At first, I didn't think much of it, just thought it was another blog publishing service like NetworkedBlogs.

Who introduced you here (mention him - if possible)?

Eventually, I clicked on one of the Steemit posts on Facebook. I don't remember who, exactly it was, might have been @gian.

What's your channel topic?

My channel is diverse. I blog about #CSGO, #baseball, and world change. I'm also interested in growing the Steemit community and so I've started a regular "What You Missed on Reddit" series where I showcase the top posts on different subreddits to demonstrate to redditors and steemians alike that we can have equally high quality content here on Steemit.com while getting paid to create and curate it.

Your hobbies and interests?

I like music and art, CS:GO (a first-person shooter computer game), good food, and connecting with people who want to change the world. I'm really interested in steemit and the idea of a social media platform that rewards users for creating interesting content.

Your best and worst experiences here?

My worst experience I'm sure enough steemians can relate to. It's when I've created a long, well-thought out post and it just doesn't get any traction. No upvotes, no views, nothing. My best experience is finding a huge community of very committed, dedicated steemers who are excited about the potential of this network to create meaningful change in our lives.

Life after steemit?

I am currently walking a 7 year journey to life where I document my process of self-change so that others may benefit.
Check out 7 Year Journey to Life to learn more.

Thanks for reading,
@tylersr