A few days ago, I sat me down and tried to think of things I had actually accomplished in my life. At 21, still living with my mother, medically discharged from the USAF, only taking one class due to financial concerns, with no job and no hope for one unless the USAF takes me back, you can see why my accomplishments may be hard to find.

Then I started really, seriously thinking about it.

I've been a performing musician since I was 15 (12, really, but independent since 15). I taught myself three instruments and a foreign language. I have no children, no crippling debt, no expensive or illegal vices, I'm not addicted to anything that's my fault (see previous post and add in early-onset arthritis), I'm not in an abusive relationship, selling myself, or selling drugs.

In my 21-and-a-half years, I have broken hundreds of statistics.

I'm mixed-race, and therefore should have fallen prey to gangs, drugs, or one of the many unfavorable results of unprotected promiscuous sex. I'm nonheterosexual, and therefore should have tried suicide multiple times, become an addict, or started sleeping around. I'm poor, and therefore am twice as likely to do any and all of the above.

Yet here I stand, healthy if not happy, clean if not tidy, poor but not indebted.

For someone who was destined to fail before 18, I'm doing pretty damn good.