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USA250 Journal Project
Personal Chronicle: July 4, 2025 – July 5, 2026
A gift for reflection. A record of now. A story for what’s next.
✍️ “Who am I?”
I’m Dre. I’ve been a soldier, a son, a ghost, a problem, a miracle—depending on who you ask.
Truth is, I’m still figuring that out. Some days I wake up ready to rebuild my life. Other days, I can barely find my shoes.
But I do know this: I’ve got a gift. I see people. I mean really see them. And Jamal? That kid’s got something—fire in his words. He just needs someone to say, “Go. Say it. Say all of it.”
I’m the loud one at the shelter. The one who plays old mixtapes too late and talks too fast when I’m off my meds. But I’m also the one who drags Jamal to open mics and makes him print his poems. Because if I’m still breathing, then maybe we both still have time.
Beneath the mess? I’m somebody who wants to matter. Who wants to be heard.
✍️ “How did I get here?”
Afghanistan. That’s the answer nobody wants to hear, but it’s the truth.
Before that? I was a kid in a loud house in east Detroit. Mama raised three of us on a hospital salary. I joined the army at eighteen thinking I’d make something of myself.
I came back different. Angrier. Quieter in the ways that scare people.
The system didn’t have much waiting for me. Couple jobs. A couple couches. Then the shelter. Then here.
That’s where I met Jamal. Quiet kid. Shy but sharp. I read some of his writing and told him, “You ever say this out loud? ‘Cause you should.”
We’ve been tight since. But sometimes I crash hard. Sometimes I disappear for a day or two and come back sorry and shaking.
How did I get here?
By surviving. Barely. By holding onto music and memories and the stubborn belief that maybe I still have something to give.
What has life taught me?
That healing ain’t a straight line.
That some of us are poetry with a limp.
And that even broken voices can carry truth.
Friends & Associates
Jamal Knight – Friend
Jenna Reyes – Social Worker.
Pastor Levi – Runs a church-based arts and recovery space.
