Became a dad and had to completely rebuild my entire life
Got my college sweetheart pregnant at 20. Had no plan, no money, parents flipped out. Worked two jobs, got my degree part-time, became a construction supervisor by 28. My kid is 9 now and I'm stable. What I miss: sleeping past 6am, having money for stupid stuff, the freedom to just leave whenever. What I gained: purpose, man. Everything I do makes sense now. Also I actually like who I became. Younger me was kind of a disaster. Fatherhood fixed that.
Respect for stepping up when everything fell apart. A lot of guys bail in that situation. How are things now? Did working those two jobs eventually pay off or just keeping your head above water?
The college sweetheart angle hits different too. Glad you two made it work through all that chaos. Takes some serious commitment from both sides.