Deabreu, Ethan: - Ethan is a soul on fire that wants to share his spark with others."I grew up humbly. I lived with my brother and two brothers growing up. We also had a miniature schnauzer named Fritz. We figured the name was appropriate since he was a German dog."Growing up, I had this big chip on my shoulder. I felt I never really got my fair chance to succeed, but I was determined to create it for myself. Many kids rebelled when young, but my rebellion was personal excellence. I never quite felt that I was good enough, or worse, I felt I was caught in the purgatory of better than normal but still not excellent."I was told I was a failure, and that I was fat and stupid so many times that it drove me to prove others wrong. I wanted to prove to them, and to myself, that I was none of those things. This led me to go internal at times, completely locking down my emotions and feelings of self-doubt to allow myself to push past whatever barrier was in my way."I felt like I crawled to my feet and out of the dirt. Every day it felt like I was able to crawl an inch when everyone around me was going a mile. I was jealous of the opportunities that fell into the laps of others when I felt so starved. I realized that the only way to crawl out of the dirt was to become undeniable, becoming a diamond in the rough. I had an intense internal pressure to succeed so that I didn't get left behind in the life that I wanted. This was the source of all my drive, this unwavering desire to just be free, and escape the circumstances of my environment. I just wanted a slice of peace in my life, so that I could finally just take a breath."Over the years, I realized that this anger inside of me was chewing me up. I never let my anger spill out onto others, but I was never kind to myself either. I struggled to see the value in myself or my accomplishments. I started to turn my lens inward with meditation and writing to help sift through my thoughts. I needed to face these emotions inside of me, to understand them, and let them go. It's always going to be a work in progress; however, through introspection, we can clear the blockage from our mind to our heart. We can learn to lower our guard but still maintain self-worth."There are so many times I have felt defeated and beaten down by life, but the number one thing I have learned is that 'There is always a way.' The way may be through hellfire, but so be it; you have to be prepared to endure it all to make it through to the other side. Through patience, meditation, and an unrelenting work ethic, I carved out the piece of myself that could make it out of my personal hell."