Hi, my name is Angela Johnson. I am currently living in San Diego and this is my story, The Tipping Point.

Growing up in the San Diego suburbs it was immediately clear that I was a black sheep, it's hard not to notice being the tallest and darkest kid on the block. Dominican immigrant mother and white dad from upstate New York. I felt different. My childhood was an emotional rollercoaster. I didn't get along with my dad, he never recovered from his childhood & took it out on my mom, sister and I.

Prayer, forgiveness and church were the tools my mother peddled to my sister and I to deal with my father’s volatility.

Dissociation became the way my brain dealt with this situation. Unable to turn off this coping mechanism while in school, I was first prescribed adderall at the request of my third grade teacher. No surprise I wouldn't confide in adults when they asked about my home life.

Adderall was a pharmacological manifestation of my mom's emotionless catchphrase,"just get over it." An 8 year old zombie, roaming the halls of elementary, middle and early high school.

I was drawn too the misfits and was soon exposed to drugs. My intuition told me that these peers were trouble, but using was another way to disassociate.

Oh well, I’d soon “get over it.”

In high school I tried to start new and stop the ADHD meds but I was met with bullying when my jovial nature wasn’t smothered by the prescription amphetamines. Still battling with family conflict, I was trying to work on myself by myself. Without supportive peers or adults to confide in I became disrespectful and explosive, much like my father. On the day I left my family home, I was comforting my sister after she had an argument with our dad. He came back for round two and with a smile threatened to choke me like he did the year before. Blocking the door and pushing me down onto the bed, just as he did almost a year before, which left purple marks on my neck.

I never returned after he threatened my life again.

The look in his eyes was absolute evil and no amount of unsolicited pleas to “give him a second chance, because he’s your dad”’ from neighbors and family will lead me to return to the hell that is Tim.

Today I am working on my sobriety, December 1st, 2024 is my clean date. Working with my sponsor and my therapist to process traumas that still haunt me daily.-

The butterfly represents a fresh start and a new beginning, emerging from a dark place like a burnt tree branch. It symbolizes resilience and beauty, even after enduring the fire. This transformation didn't happen gradually, but in one dramatic moment, a tipping point in my life. My goal is to spark a positive trend, much like a contagious yawn. I believe that we all have the power to change any situation we find ourselves in, to take control and create our own path forward.