GoKawiilBuilding from Zero After Addiction, Prison, and a Felony
I spent ages 14–16 in a maximum-security juvenile prison, became a felon at 19, lost almost everything to addiction, and later rebuilt my life through software, open source, and a few people who took a chance on me.
I've wanted to write this for a while, but kept finding reasons not to. It felt too personal, too risky, and too easy to misread.
Recently, I decided on two things:
After seeing Preston Thorpe speak publicly about his own background, I wondered how many others like us were silently lurking in tech I'm far enough in my career with enough contributions to OSS and community involvement, that I think I'll probably be alright
I wrote this for anyone quietly wondering whether they have no chance at a future.
Below is the much-condensed life story of my struggles with addiction, poverty, and incarceration + life after being a felon. My hope is that it serves as encouragement to others who are in similar circumstances that things CAN get better.
Amphetamine Addict and Prison at 14
I was a model student up until around puberty and middle school. Then, I think a combination of being bullied for being overweight and teenage hormones, led me to be just the wrong combination of resentful, angry, unhappy, and rebellious.
I started getting in fistfights with people that made fun of me, being a huge asshole to teachers, stopped doing schoolwork, and started experimenting with drugs.
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