At the age of 16, Cole was suddenly abandoned by his parents and had to figure out a way to live on his own. High school became overwhelming; there was so much stress that he just felt lost. On top of the challenges of finding shelter and food, getting to and from school was tough. He could feel himself losing the strength to continue going to class—to the point that he wasn’t able to graduate.
Years later, at age 25, Cole found new motivation. Not having his high school diploma was a heavy weight to carry. Thankfully, Cole’s wife was there to encourage him to get his GED. Despite his fear of facing the past, Cole knew he could do this. He studied every single day and took enough notes to write a novel!
There were many points during his test prep when we wanted to give up, but his wife motivated him to keep going. He was very nervous about math, so he decided to confront the toughest subject first. In addition to confronting his fear of math, Cole was able to overcome the struggles of his childhood. The other subjects seemed easier in comparison, and pretty soon Cole passed every practice test and every final test on the first try. He felt shocked and amazed about achieving his goal. Now with his GED, Cole will pursue his dream of being a firefighter.