Homeless in Bulgaria, Adopted in America — My Journey

I’ve been in prison for 6 years now, and it’s given me lots of time to reflect on my past, present, and future. I started out as a homeless child, born with a cleft lip and palate, in Bulgaria, a third world country. My sister died of starvation, and I was left alone to fend for myself at a very young age.

Around my 7th birthday, I was adopted by my mom, in America. I remember coming to the United States completely wide-eyed, in awe of how different everything was. All I had with me was a stuffed lion. I was used to sleeping on the street with little or no food, and suddenly I was in a big house with a big family. On the surface, everything appeared to be amazing. It was like the ultimate success story – homeless child gets adopted by a wealthy, loving family. However, behind the scenes, it was overwhelming. I just couldn’t seem to adjust to my new life. Everything was so sudden; I felt so lost.

People always say, “Fake it ‘til you make it.” I managed to hide my anxieties fairly well at first. I graduated high school, went to college in Montana and Oregon. I worked at Starbucks for a while, was employed in various sales and management positions, and even owned a computer store for a while. People thought, “Lucas is doing so well now.” The reality was quite the opposite. I wasn’t doing well, at least not on the inside.

By 2011, I went into lots of debt and tried to fix it by writing bad checks. A few years later, I lashed out and spanked a child that I was taking care of, which led to criminal charges. I made a lot of mistakes, and I take accountability for them. Just because I had a bad childhood is no excuse for the actions I took. It was, however, difficult for me at the time to find my way, legally. I was so used to just doing whatever it took to survive, as a child, and it was tough to alter my thinking as an adult.

I now have a sister, who was adopted from Russia. I have cousins who were adopted from Oregon and China. Because of my past and my current situation, I’ve become incredibly resilient, and able to adapt to the most challenging of circumstances. I am the most non-judgmental person I know, and I feel that is a great trait in a pen pal. You can write anything at all, and you can be certain that I will empathize with your situation, I will do everything I can to understand where you’re coming from, and I’ll never judge you. I also have so many interesting stories to share, which I’m anxious to put down on paper and share with a new pen pal or friend.

Some of my hobbies include skiing, snowboarding, camping, building computers, and reading good books. I watch everything on TV from Game of Thrones to Shameless. I listen to all sorts of music. Marilyn Manson? Yes. George Strait? Jason Mraz? Yes. Frank Sinatra? Yes. Taylor Swift? (Don’t judge me, but yes!). The New Kids on the Block? Ok, there’s my first NO. Let’s just say I have very diverse tastes in TV and music.

If I weren’t in prison today, where would I be? Maybe at a lounge, listening to some live music and enjoying some good food. Or perhaps I’d be at the lake or the river on a sunny day. In the winter, you’d most likely find me at the nearest ski lodge, or perhaps enjoying a warm December in Palm Springs.

I genuinely love meeting new people and learning new things. I welcome all letters, or emails via the Getting Out app, and I promise to write back. Let’s share some stories, talk about life, and see where the conversation leads. I can’t wait to hear from you.