The Coffee Shop Where Everything Changed

I often return to this coffee shop. At first glance, it might seem like nostalgia or routine, but the truth runs deeper. The first time I sat here, I bought my coffee with one of my last few dollars. I wasn’t just broke financially… I was broken mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. This place wasn’t just a stop for caffeine; it was my refuge, my quiet battleground where I faced the harsh reality of how far I had fallen.

For years, I had been hovering… floating just above rock bottom, convincing myself I was fine, that I was “killing it,” that everything was under control. But the truth was, I was dying inside. I had spent so much time trying to maintain the illusion of success that I ignored the storm raging within me. And like anything left unchecked, it eventually caught up with me.

But something happened here, in this very seat. I stopped hovering. I let myself fall. And in doing so, I found the ground I needed to stand on. I started writing… not for an audience, not for validation, but for survival. I poured my thoughts onto paper, writing about life, struggle, hope, and the lessons hidden within pain. What started as a desperate outlet became my first blog…

This very blog you’re reading now.

That moment marked the turning point. Not some grand epiphany or overnight success, but a simple, quiet shift… the decision to stop pretending and start rebuilding. It’s easy to fear rock bottom, to resist the fall. But I’ve learned that the real danger isn’t in falling… it’s in hovering, stuck in limbo, too afraid to let go, too scared to start again.

Wherever you are in your journey, remember this:

Rock bottom isn’t the end.

It’s a foundation. It’s better to fall and rebuild than to stay suspended in fear. Never forget where you came from. Keep pushing forward. And when you do rise, let your scars remind you not of your failures, but of the strength it took to get back up.

Adam NIall