Who am I? A story of TRANSFORMATION (musician/substance abuse counselor)

Hi Steemit! This community rocks!

My name is Matthew Piecora and I am about to turn 34 years old.. good lord. I am a Seattle native currently back in school studying my passion.. MUSIC! I originally went back to school to continue my education as a CAC (certified addiction counselor) and attain a job as a drug counselor in a local Treatment Program.I had been living in Florida for the previous 5 years putting myself back together at first, and than receiving education and training to become a drug counselor. Full disclosure: I am a recovered alcoholic. Yes- I do not drink, use drugs, and I avoid the dentist.. haha. However, there was a time when this was quite the opposite, and I was a wrecking ball in many peoples lives. Currently, I am 6 years sober and counting! Hooray!
After spending 4 months in a trauma center I left and made Florida my new home! I started working at a local pizzeria managing their kitchen. Life was slow and uneventful, however, better than the alternative. Around the 1 year mark I applied to get a job working in a treatment center as a Behavioral Health Technician. I was hired over 4 other candidates including one who even shared my same name. I remember my interviewer telling me "Another Matt just interviewed before you" to which I replied "That's too bad, there can only be one." My soon to be manager laughed at that, and I started work a few weeks later. I was feeling good, making enough money to live comfortably, and back to working on my music!

I fell in love with helping people, and found that I was good at it. I worked my way up the ladder at the treatment center to eventually become a case manager and a music counselor! What?! Yes, a music counselor. Cool title, and even a cooler gig. As a music counselor I built projects involving music to help people express their emotions and just have fun. LIVE A LITTLE. I guided music meditations, ran songwriting groups, had clients share their own music- oh, and I performed a lot . I was feeling blessed, and I worked hard. However, life has a way of shifting gears for you, and presenting alternative paths despite your best efforts to hold the helm steady. I have a bad spine and my neck was in dire need of correction.

I now have this cool titanium dealio separating several discs in my neck. It hurt, and it hurts still. I had to endure using pain medication like a normal person, and I'll tell you that is not easy. This means you take what is prescribed, when your supposed to, and when the bottle runs out.. it's over. BUT I did it, and I am a testament to those people who are afraid of getting sober because of seemingly impossible feats such as these. After and because of my surgery I decided to leave Florida and return to Washington state. I was in a lot of pain, coulddn't work and wanted the comfort of my family.

Yes, that's my mom and dad in their back yard during the perfect Seattle summer. Anyhow, I recovered slowly, and started looking around for work. It didn't take long, I was offered a job as a substance abuse counselor right away. I needed more education, and wanted more education. I enrolled in a midi/production degree at a local college and have been killin' it. I have never been a strait A student before in my life, but I am now. I love music theory, and I love synthesizers. My degree has an emphasis on music technology and performance.

Songwriting is my forte. I have been singing and playing guitar for 17 years. Currently I study jazz guitar privately under a man named David Head.

Currently I am pursuing music in several different dirrections. I own and run a music website (https://www.modbang.com/)and I am making semi instructional eurorack/sampling videos for my dtube/youtube channel.

I plan to release tons of interesting music here for you all to check out, and maybe some tutorials on how to use certain machines. I LOVE MUSIC, AND I LOVE TO HELP PEOPLE! GOD BLESS! ***If ANYONE has questions about substance abuse, feel free to drop me a line :)
Shout out to @stevenalexander for getting me on this awesome crypto platform!