Hello awesome steemians!

Hello Everybody!
I have been lurking in the shadows of my uncommitted lifestyle way too long. I think I crave community and now is a better time to introduce myself.

I am a veteran who served on submarines and became mentally ill through the arduous task that I signed up for. The process has given me greater capabilities as a person but it also wounded my health to the point it's nearly impossible for me to hold on to any job, relationship, or hobby. With years of alienating myself, losing most of my closest friends, chasing alcohol, drugs, and women to fill the void, and years of cognitive behavioral therapy, I decided to let myself suffer. I allowed myself to be vulnerable and weak in front of all the people I've met on my journey. I backpacked through Southeast Asia and volunteered in places very far from my western lifestyle. This is how my healing began.

This journey started when I decided to jump headfirst into Thailand, being the Thai-American who lost his mother tongue. I haven't had much experience with interacting with other Thai people besides my family, so it took a bunch of courage for a timid me to explore something new. I found a volunteer site that teaches English and builds shelters for orphans in the mountains of Thailand. I figured it would be a good place for me to start speaking Thai again.

To my surprise, these children spoke their own mother tongue, (Lahu, a mountain tribe that lives in China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos). I intended to learn Thai culture, but I ended up experiencing that a country is made by people from many cultures combined.

We spent months communicating in our broken Thai language (Well, for me it was, for the little ones, their journeys were just beginning.) and playing games and singing songs. I think it was a huge benefit to have learned Thai at a young age because I was able to teach with understanding and learn about their hearts more than I would with a larger language barrier.

I became more confident in my Thai thought process and began to communicate without translation first. It was a beautiful thing to grow another language in my broken mind.

I'd like to share my stories with you all, past and present. I would like to commit to learning about your journey as well!

Thank you for reading!