From Homeless to Homeowner – The Inspirational Story of Chris Atoki

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Theemergingindia
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Every now and then, we come across a storey that shakes us to our core, and today’s genuine storey of a man named Chris Atoki is one of those stories. He was homeless in his early twenties, lived in his car after being evicted from his home; the odds were stacked against him – yet he defied the odds and rose to fame!

When Everything Was Against Him – He Didn’t Give Up

Chris had an extremely busy schedule when he was 18. He had to get up at 7:00 a.m. to go to school. He used to return home at 3 p.m. after a long day at school to take a brief nap to regain his strength. He used to work a 12-hour shift that started at 5 p.m. and ended at 5 a.m. after resting for approximately 2 hours — sure, it was exhausting.

He used to come home after finishing work at 5 a.m. and sleep for two hours before returning to school at 7 a.m. — rinse and repeat. He persisted until he was sacked from his job for not “working hard enough.”

Chris was now unable to pay his mother’s rent, but he continued to attend school. He had to drop out of school since he didn’t have the money to pay for it. After a while, his mother ejected him from the house.

Left Outside Alone in The Cold, In A Rusty Car & No Help In Sight

When he was homeless and asking for help, it was a frigid November. Chris tried everything he could think of to get things to calm down. He even tried going to his grandmother’s place, but it didn’t work. He moved into his girlfriend’s dorm, something her father did not approve of. According to Chris, who put it thus way:

“I got kicked out in November in the cold. Tried to crash on my grandmas couch. Didn’t last. Tried to stay and my girlfriends dorm. Nope her dad didn’t like that. Understandable.”

With no hope in sight, he considered ending his life and putting an end to his suffering. He sat in his “rusty” automobile, which he described as parked outside a Walmart. Chris describes how he felt:

“I parked in front of Walmart. Freezing cold. Less than a dollar in my account. I think it was like $0.83 or something. No family. No friends. No money. Hungry. Felt like giving up. Cried. Tried to sleep.”

“I didn’t sleep. I was thinking about how much I hated everything. My mom, my dad, my father. My family. My job. College. My rusty car. People. But most of all myself. I told myself that my situation was an accumulation of why my life didn’t matter,”

A Spark of Hope Appears

Chris got a stunning realisation when he looked into his rearview mirror and saw his own face during this terrible time. He stated, “

“I felt like I was born again. Like a different person. I was going to grab life by the horns.”

He wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of his newfound hope. He immediately went to the library and applied for every job he could find. Chris goes on to say:

“I’m not joking. Warehouse, factory, meatpacker, wedding DJ helper, solar panel canvasser (twice), insurance agent, and ultimately mattress salesman for a company where I had to go meet people,” he says.

“I was able to put a down payment and acquire another automobile because of the money I saved performing these odd jobs.” For a while, I did this job until travelling 400 miles per day became too much for me. I eventually applied for a job at Mattress Firm and was hired,”

“Because I couldn’t afford an apartment at the time, I would shower at the gym adjacent to the business and go to work,” she explained.

Chris was finally able to rent an apartment for $550 after saving up enough money. Chris is on the verge of becoming unstoppable.

Chris Goes Back to School

Chris’ unwavering optimism led him to The Lambda School (now known as Bloom Institute of Technology) – a school that offers online lessons with the option of paying for them when you earn enough money, making it the ideal match for Chris! Chris had this to say about it:

“I’d been doing it for a while, but I wasn’t satisfied with it. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life doing this, but I couldn’t go back to school either. I was looking up several online schools when I came upon @LambdaSchool. It fulfilled all of my requirements.”

Chris sent an email to Austen Allred, the CEO of The Lambda School, without anticipating a response. Faith, on the other hand, had something good in store for him; the CEO contacted him. Chris utilised his phone’s hotspot to study because he didn’t have access to the internet at his home, demonstrating that nothing can stop you if you truly want to achieve your goals.

“Because I didn’t have internet at home or at work, I used my phone’s hotspot to attend classes while working.” It was awful, but once again, I’m doing it for myself.”

From Student to Teaching Assistant

He decided to teach after successfully completing his degree at Lambda. He was hired as a Teaching Assistant at Lambda. Chris had this to say about it:

“I wanted to assist children in achieving their goals and receiving the same assistance that I received.” I gave everything I had to each of them, and they know it. “All of them,” says the narrator.

Chris’ efforts were recognised by the Lamba team, particularly by the CEO. Mr. Austen Allred even praised Chris’ tale on Twitter, calling it “very motivating.”

Chris Keeps Winning – Gets a Job in Philadelphia

Chris was employed at a tech firm, which resulted in a significant raise in his salary. Chris moved from despairing in his rusted automobile to envisioning a bright future. Chris stated, “

“Eventually, I applied for IT jobs and was hired for my first one in Philadelphia.” I adored what I was doing. I also doubled my prior year’s earnings. I kept working hard and learning new things, and I eventually moved on to a position that paid better. And it didn’t end there. “

Chris Atoki – A Proud Homeowner

His unwavering optimism and tenacity helped him achieve his goal of becoming a homeowner. Chris discusses the importance of never giving up:

“Find a way to motivate yourself to perform better. It isn’t something that happens over night. I’m not a unique individual. I’ve simply taken command of my life.”

“I’m a 24-year-old black male with tattoos who has been homeless for the past four years. From owning a $350,000 home on 1.24 acres to currently owning a $350,000 home on 1.24 acres. If I’m capable of doing it. You certainly can. “I’m pleased with myself.”

Atoki, Chris You are a really inspirational human being, and we admire everything you have accomplished in your life. King, may you continue to triumph!

You can read Chris’ full life story in his own words here and follow him on Twitter here.

Sources: Thread Reader

Images & Featured Image via Chris Atoki on Twitter