shannon's second chance
31 years old
If you've ever sat in a salon chair, you know it's about more than getting your hair done.
Sometimes it's where people laugh, cry, vent, celebrate, and share pieces of their lives with someone they trust.
For the last eight years, Shannon has been that person for countless people.
As a cosmetologist, she's built a career around helping others see the beauty in themselves. She's a true crime podcast enthusiast, a proud cat mom, and a devoted aunt to her three year old niece, Tessa…a little girl who has become one of her biggest reasons for staying sober.
Looking at Shannon today, most people would never guess the battles she's fought behind the scenes.
And that's exactly why. she wanted to share her story.
"Addiction doesn't have a face. Doesn't have a certain type of person. It could be your best friend, your hairstylist, your sister."
For years, Shannon struggled with alcohol and cocaine. Like many people living with addiction, she became skilled at carrying her struggles quietly. From the outside, life continued moving forward. But eventually, her body began sending messages she could no longer ignore.
She started experiencing concerning symptoms with her heart.
"I was experiencing some weird feelings with my heart and it scared me."
The fear forced her to confront a reality she had been avoiding. More importantly, it helped her realize something that would become the foundation of her recovery:
"No one would help me be sober without me doing it first."
Recovery often begins with a moment that changes everything. Not because life suddenly becomes easier, but because a person decides they're ready for something different.
For Shannon, that decision wasn't about becoming someone new.
It was about finding her way back to herself.
That doesn't mean the journey has been easy.
When asked about the most difficult part of sobriety, Shannon didn't talk about cravings or withdrawals. Instead, she spoke about something many people in recovery understand all too well: asking for help.
"Admitting to my family I needed help."
Those six words carry an incredible amount of courage.
Addiction thrives in secrecy. Recovery asks us to step into the light.
It asks us to be honest when honesty feels terrifying.
It asks us to trust that the people who love us will still be there after the truth is spoken aloud.
For Shannon, that honesty has become one of the most important steps in her recovery.
Today, she credits her family and friends as some of greatest sources of support.
Even with that support, recovery remains something she actively chooses every day.
"Strong with struggles but I haven't relapsed."
It's a simple statement, but an incredibly powerful one.
Because sobriety isn't always the absence of temptation.
There are still moments when Shannon wants to have a drink. There are still times when the familiar voice of addiction tries to convince her that one won't hurt.
But she knows herself well enough to recognize where that road leads.
"I struggle with wanting to have a drink but knowing that I'm much better without because where there's one there's another that follows."
That awareness has become one of her greatest strengths.
Instead of romanticizing the past, she remembers it honestly. Instead of giving into the urge, she lets it pass.
And with every urge she survives, she proves to herself that she's stronger than it.
When asked what she's most proud of since beginning her sobriety journey, her answer came easily.
"My consistency to stay sober and to encourage others to begin their sobriety journey."
There's something beautiful about that response.
Because recovery doesn't just change the person living it.
It creates ripples.
Every time Shannon shares her story, encourages someone else, or simply chooses sobriety for another day, she's showing others that recovery is possible too.
The rewards have been life changing.
"My health has drastically improved, my relationships, my mental clarity is insanely better and it's helped me focus on the areas I was numbing with substances."
Today, she's focused on goals that once may have felt out of reach—paying off debt, buying a house, and continuing to build a future she's proud of.
A future she gets to be fully present for.
When asked what she's most grateful for when she looks at herself today, she answered with one word:
"Perseverance."
It's difficult to think of a word that describes her journey more perfectly.
Perseverance is choosing sobriety on the hard days.
Perseverance is staying the course when nobody is watching.
Perseverance is continuing to believe in yourself even when you're still learning how.
Perhaps the most beautiful part of Shannon's story came when she described what a second chance means to her.
"Starting again."
She shared that she has two lotus flower tattoos that symbolize regrowth. While they weren't originally connected to her sobriety journey, they've become a meaningful reminder of something she's learned along the way:
"Even in murky waters beautiful things can rise."
Like the lotus flower, Shannon's story isn't about pretending the mud never existed.
It's about proving that growth can happen because of what you've survived, not in spite of it.
Today, her sobriety is more than a milestone.
It's a promise she continues to make to herself.
A reminder that she is worthy of healing.
A reminder than she is stronger than her addiction.
And a reminder that every day offers another opportunity to begin again.
A Message to Anyone Still Struggling
If you're currently battling addiction, Shannon wants you to know this:
"It gets better. You can push through the urges. They WILL subside and YOU are stronger than your drug of choice."
Hope can feel impossible when you're in the middle of the fight.
But Shannon is proof that recovery is possible.
One day.
One choice.
One second at a time.
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REFLECTIONS FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHER
When I first read Shannon's application, one answer immediately stood out to me: "Addiction doesn't have a face."
It's something I believe deeply, and it's one of the reasons The Second Chance Project exists.
So often, society creates a picture in its mind of what addiction looks like. But the reality is much more complicated. Addiction can affect anyone, regardless of their profession, appearance, background, or how "put together" they seem from the outside.
Shannon's story is a beautiful reminder of that truth.
She's a cosmetologist who spends her days helping others see their beauty. She's an aunt who wants to be present for her niece. She's someone working hard toward buying a home and building a future she loves.
And she's also someone in recovery.
Those things can all be true at the same time.
I was especially moved by her connection to the lotus flower. The idea that something beautiful can rise from murky waters feels like such a powerful metaphor for recovery. Not because recovery erases the past, but because it shows us that growth is still possible after we've walked through difficult seasons.
Shannon, thank you for trusting me with your story. Thank you for showing others that addiction doesn't define a person, and that healing is possible no matter where your journey begins.
Like the lotus flowers you carry with you, may you always remember how far you've risen.
Xo, Tierney
