I was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, where I spent most of my life. I was raised in a Jewish household and attended private Jewish school until middle school.
During my first semester at High School, because of behavior issues related to thievery, I was sent away to a wilderness survival program - where I spent 10 weeks surviving on my own in the dessert wilderness of Utah. Afterwards, I spent the next two years of my life at the country's most eminent therapeutic boarding school. At this school, I delved deeper into my emotional issues than most people ever even look at in the entirety of their lives. However, I still held on to the deep anger and resentment towards my parents.
After graduating High School, I spent a year traveling abroad in the Middle East, where I became a volunteer EMT and spent the year saving lives. It was not until after I returned to the US that I decided to enlist in the Navy as a nuclear engineer. After nearly two years of training in this position in South Carolina, I learned that the military had deceived me in my enlistment contract, and I reacted the way a child would - and I acted out in the way I knew best - thievery. I shoplifted from a store on the Naval base - repeatedly - until I was caught. My actions were deliberate, I took responsibility for my actions, and spent almost a year in the brig - or Navy prison.
After returning to L.A. I knew I needed to rehabilitate myself. I spent a year at a Jewish residential treatment center, where I grew in more ways than I could imagine. My personal mentor was a man who stabbed and killed another man in a drug deal gone wrong. He spent nearly 40 years in prison, and he showed me that anyone, with even the worst of pasts, can redefine their future. From here I went on to study at the University of California at Santa Cruz, where I graduated with two bachelors degrees. During my two years at UCSC, I additionally committed myself to volunteer as a court appointed special advocate for foster youth brought into the court system.
After, I applied and was accepted to law school. However, after one year of hard work I was accused by the school of cheating - with my own notes that I myself had written during tests! The school claimed my notes were "too perfect," although there was no evidence that I cheated. All of my notes throughout my time at law school were consistent, and resulted in my suing the law school itself for false accusations, libel, and slander. This entire experience shook me, as in the past I was accustomed to truly being guilty, and here I was - innocent, but without the ability to defend myself.
It was after this time that I experienced a true horror, the likes of which I cannot compare to anything else I had experienced prior. My girlfriend of eight years, suddenly and traumatically passed away. The grief was immeasurable, but I moved forward. I trained and became certified as a Tony Robbins life coach - a career I currently practice.
