#32: Axe Drop #0032 Title: TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE

Today I got my six-month sobriety chip from AA. And I’m gonna say this plain: I’m proud of my damn self. Six months ago, I didn’t think I could do this. Hell, I didn’t think I’d make it a week. But here I am. Still standing. Still sober. Still fighting. Still becoming the man I was supposed to be all along. One of the biggest things I’ve learned in this journey is this: You can’t control other people. You can’t force love. You can’t hold together something that was never really yours to carry. And the more I let go of trying to control everything around me, the more I started taking real control of my own life. That’s the difference. I quit chasing validation. I quit needing other people to tell me I matter. I quit measuring my worth by who stayed, who left, who loved me, or who didn’t. And somewhere in that process, I found myself again. I learned to love myself again. I learned to believe in myself again. I learned that I am a good man. I learned that my worth does not depend on somebody else seeing it first. I see it now. In these six months, I’ve done more than survive. I’ve learned how to write computer code. I’ve built a social media platform for people out there living in silence or living alone. I’ve written daily motivational messages — Axe Drops — to try to put strength back into the world. I’ve reached out and built sponsorships around a mission bigger than me: giving back to veterans, firefighters, medics, and their families. And I did it on my own. Not because nobody mattered. But because I finally learned I matter too. That doesn’t mean this road hasn’t cost me. It has. I’ve lost a lot along the way. But the truth is, some of the things I thought I lost… I never really had. I was trying to control situations that were never mine to control. And that truth hurts. But it also sets you free. Because once you know your worth, you stop begging for what should come freely. You stop forcing what should be real. You stop chasing people who are willing to watch you break. In these same six months, I beat cancer. I lost a kidney. I spent holidays alone. I spent birthdays alone. I even lived through an anniversary alone — the first one and the only one. And I’m still here. That matters. So today isn’t just about sobriety. It’s about truth. It’s about growth. It’s about pain turning into power. It’s about a man looking himself in the mirror and finally being able to say: You made it. You’re making it. And you’re worth saving. So congratulations to me. Six months sober. And for the first time in a long time, I don’t need anybody else to clap for me to know this means something. I know what I’ve done. I know what I’ve survived. I know who I’m becoming. And I’m damn proud of that. Now we set our eyes on seven. “One day at a time. One mile at a time. One fight at a time.” -Axe🪓 Founder RavenAxe