A Broken And Redeeming Road Forward

John Stewart grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, unsure of what he would do with his life. He grew up loving to be active and fight, participating in rugby, wrestling, football, and the school rifle team. He was active in his church, the Christian organization Young Life, and other Christian groups, like the church youth group, an organization in the Pittsburgh area called Happening. He felt called by the Lord to serve in the military at a young age to serve in the US Marine Corps as a 0231 intelligence specialist. He volunteered to go to 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division for two deployments and then the 1st Marine Division G-2 and 1st Marine Expeditionary Force G-2. He saw how beautiful his lifelong best friend was while sitting on a bench in Bahrain. When John came home, he started dating her, asked her to marry him, and had a daughter with her. His wife joined the US Army, and John tried to transfer into the Army with his wife, but COVID-19 stopped recruitment.

John attended Arizona State University for his bachelor's degree while being a stay-at-home father during the pandemic. He gained a significant amount of fat up to 253 lbs. After the gym opened and he got vaccinated, he began his weight-loss journey. John completed his bachelor's degree in three years while being a full-time father and losing 71 lbs. down to 182 lbs. His wife wanted a divorce in his last semester of college, sending him a continent away back to the US from his daughter. He learned that his lifelong best friend was committing adultery and has a diagnosable narcissistic personality disorder. This is his journey to maintain a positive role in his daughter's life and fulfill his life calling of serving and protecting others.