Dallas Garrison

My path in life has brought me through some very deep, very dark tunnels, completely devoid of life and light, and in hindsight, it seems that many of the decisions I made were a reflection (or emanation) of the spirit of my bleak environment.

A familiarity with the darkness around me grew much stronger, inexorably, as so too, my path grew longer. But now, fortunately, that familiarity only serves to help me understand and feel the pain in others and be able to connect with them on a deeper level of shared experience and shared suffering. The choices I make now after years of, what I consider, a healthy degree of mental clarity, allow me to make use of my past mistakes and the consequences that followed by being someone whom others in similar situations can relate with and potentially see as a source of inspiration or motivation on their own path out of the darkness.

Professionally, the handful of jobs I had throughout the years were very temporary because, as a drug addict, the most important aspect of life was unquestionably acquiring more drugs to avoid withdrawal by any means necessary. The time and energy it demanded of me never allowed me to become a dependable employee. But in truth, I never cared about being a good employee or keeping a job in order to strengthen my resume; these were simply not important to me, and, as is just in the universe, I now face the consequences of my actions by having a terrible work history and very few skills to speak of.

In 2018, after many years of active addiction and many terrible decisions, an even more terrible decision was made one fateful night when I overdosed after ingesting a lethal amount of methamphetamine. Not only did I suffer a heart attack, a prolonged 108-degree temperature, and 12 days comatose on the verge of death, but, I also lost my right leg from complications due to convulsing so badly on arrival at the emergency room that the initial medics who were attempting to introduce fluids into my leg (upper body veins not optional due to years of intravenous heroin abuse) missed and the fluid went into my muscle causing a critical infection to the point of requiring amputation. The doctor treating me at one point explained to my family that there was a strong possibility of (a) severe brain damage from the high temperature and (b) the potential for my coma to be permanent.

The five years since this singular event in my life have been the most productive years of my entire adult life. I left that hospital and shortly after decided that I was no longer going to be a liar, a cheater, and a thief. I chose instead to be someone I could respect when looking in the mirror. I chose to enroll in college and pursue the only path where my past mistakes could serve a purpose. I hope that any employer reading this understands how drastically I changed my life and that the person I am now is someone worth hiring; someone who has earned the opportunity through hard work, dedication, and overcoming great travail.

This summary is my best attempt at describing who I am and what I stand for truly; not merely who I want the reader to think I am to get hired.