From Homelessness to Artistic Success: Overcoming Adversity and Pursuing Your Passion

Can I tell you a story? At the beginning of the pandemic, I found myself getting evicted by my parents with 4 to 5 days notice due to a divorce and subsequent selling of their house that I was never informed about… until last minute. I was 23, had invested all of my savings into a CBD company which ended up tanking, and before I knew it, I became homeless.

The Struggle and Resilience

During this time, I sued my parents just to ensure a livable habitat—and what I ended up with was a toy hauler trailer that held enough for me to get by. I was living in the desert, where temperatures soared to over 100 degrees during the day, paired with extremely cold nights. For many days, I had nothing to do and nowhere to go. My car was nearly totaled the day I was forced to move out, due to a panic attack. Stressful anticipation of the struggles I was going to endure and no concise end goal in sight.

Despite the overwhelming challenges, I have always been good at art. People said I was gifted with it since birth, but the truth is, I never was born knowing a pencil or pen in my hand could turn into something as beautiful as what I might expect it to be. I worked hard and long for nothing but the mere enjoyment of experiencing a connection from some stranger passer by. Those that I felt would be touched by whatever was conjured up that day. To make it more personal, I added a quote of encouragement they could discover in the near future.

Transforming Passion into Profession

I never kept my art. I merely took a picture for my records. Little progress reports to myself, visible in my photo history, showing distinguishable levels of progress. During my homelessness era, I sourced a computer and googled how to Torrent those coveted Adobe programs. Somehow, I came across a Udemy course and coursework file database that I could utilize to put my creative intuition into a digital practice.

The possibilities Adobe could open up for oneself were clear, and whenever I had a chance to get power, I would clear my day and stay faithful to the program. No grades, no degree, just me and a slightly embarrassing story of how I found a way to overcome adversity and tunnel vision to one skill I spent years developing and refining. In 2024, my relentless effort to bless whomever I could, whilst not expecting fruitful returns, influenced a direction which now has evolved into a promising path to a financially stable form of income through my art.

Chasing a Dream: A Life of Unwavering Commitment

In 2024, my efforts have outweighed my luck and shown fruit beyond what I could have imagined. The momentum was built by a strategy to literally force my art to my peers who pursued their small businesses, blessing them with logos, creative media, and marketing direction based on my limited yet quality opinion, completely free of charge. I pursued art and its facets since middle school—almost 10 years since high school. Everybody knows the odds of making a living with this—and I have suffered homelessness twice with countless other incidents that could easily break people!

If you have a dream that can somehow used to support yourself financially through your journey of this life, chase it! Unapologetically. Cant walk until you first crawl, so whats your excuse? Ask so many questions that people become annoyed of you, unapologetically. And preferably not in a pessimistic manner!

Networking and Opportunity

Never turn down a chance to network and never sell yourself short. Every single person's potential is somewhat equal, as we all start out in life the same way: young, observant, and most times unsure. Money cannot buy what integrity and compassion paired with practice can. Opportunity is available every. Fucking. Where. Albeit we must be there to acknowledge and accept it. One day, opportunity will acknowledge and accept you back, and you'll be in the position I was also in. I swear to God, I had to pull over because I was crying not from sadness, not from regrets, but from relief.

My future still involves a lot of hard work. Relaxation is foreign to me although highly desired at many times. I was called the ranchero quero in my construction jobs, and if I am to leave this world with children that hold my name and legacy, I still have so much more to build within myself to support that… California is so goddamn expensive I STG!!!

Conclusion: A Call to Action

Thanks for sticking around. I design digitally and print clothes now, not to mention countless other consumer goods in many different ways. If you need anything at all, just give me a holler! And more importantly, have a blessed and adventurous journey! Chad.f@