San Francisco (2015)

After the feds caught me red-handed with 30 pounds of weed in Cape Cod and miraculously let me go, I decided to rent a car and drive the $60,000 I had accumulated back to California.

It had to be one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my life. Every time I stopped to eat, I would park my rental in front of a window and request to sit at a table directly in front of that window so I could watch the car. I felt like everyone knew I had $60,000 in my trunk.

While driving through Nebraska, I was unknowingly hitting 90 MPH. I drove by an overpass, and wouldn't you know it, a state trooper was hiding behind one of the pillars. He stopped me and searched me for an hour, and when he finally found the cash, he had me interrogated by two local detectives.

They took the money, but again luck was on my side. They let me go, and I decided to fly back home. But I was flying back to nothing. My business was ruined, and I now owed a lot of money to some very powerful people. My profession was so tied to my identity that I felt empty after losing everything. "How did money become so important? What is even the point of all this bullshit? Why do we exist? Why was I born? God, please don't let me wake up tomorrow.."