Hey Purpose Family! This is a long but nessacary post. If you read through all of it, I salute you (you dont have a "cooked" brain from short for content😁 I thought I'd take a moment to introduce myself properly and share a little about my background, my journey and what brought me to create this community. I'm 34 years old, born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. - WHERE IT ALL BEGAN: I grew up in Woodstock, in a dysfunctional family environment, without a father and with little discipline, structure or guidance. As a teenager, I found myself seeking acceptance and validation through friendships and relationships. Unfortunately, this led me down a path involving drugs, which became a 12-year struggle, beginning at the age of 15. In my early twenties, I struggled with direction and clarity about what I wanted from life. Between the ages of 21 and 23, I spent approximately three years living in a homeless shelter. It was during this period that I discovered the Bible for the first time. - 2020: A TURNING POINT: As my understanding of God's Word developed, I increasingly recognized that the lifestyle I was living wasn't aligned with His way of life. Although I wanted to change, I didn't know where to begin. In 2020, at the age of 27, I finally broke free from drugs and began taking responsibility for my life. I started developing a vision for the man I wanted to become. It wasn't a completely straightforward journey. I experienced setbacks and slip-ups along the way, but I learned to get back up, learn from my mistakes and keep moving forward. Today, my life is considerably better than it was in 2020. One important lesson I've learned is that we're bound to make mistakes. The purpose isn't to keep repeating them, but to learn from them and make better choices moving forward. - DISCOVERING PURPOSE AND DIRECTION: After leaving my old lifestyle behind, I realized I still had a lot of work to do. I needed to discover my strengths, understand my weaknesses, develop confidence and figure out what I wanted from life.