I present a short version of my Biography to you today for those of you who are new to my page.

Some of you have been here since day one, some of you came in a year ago, some today. I feel like It's time for me to give you all a little refresher on who I am and where I came from. I've been requested to do this as well, so here it goes. This is my testimony!
My name is Spencer Jelinek, I was born in La Crosse on May 5, 1987. I was adopted at birth by two wonderful people living in the Whitewater area. I spent my childhood from 7 years old and up in Fort Atkinson. I went to a catholic grade school and middle school. From a young age I had a strong faith in God.
I have a sister who's cognitively disabled, she's from South Korea. Her name is Jordan, she's the sweetest sister anyone could ask for. She was a lot of work for my mom and dad, she was in and out of the hospital with open heart surgeries, eye surgeries, scoliosis, diabetes, bowel issues, pretty much everything under the sun. It was difficult as a child watching her go thru all this. It was a constant challenge to be in a good mood when my sister was struggling.
Then during the whole struggle with that my mom developed breast cancer, I was only in 5th grade when she first got diagnosed. I remember being terrified that I was going to lose my mom, I remember being in the kitchen and watching her walk in the house, crying. It was a extremely difficult time for our family.
Both her and my sister are in good health today and we all have so much to be thankful for.
When I hit the teenage years I started acting out badly. I did drugs, I drank, I lied, I was an overall crappy kid. I did everything I could to act out to get attention. I thought partying and having fun with friends was more important then school and everything else. I was a real hooligan. During early high school I got addicted to cigarettes and weed, it's been a burden on my life ever since. I had a predisposition for addiction. My birth mom had issues with it, so it ran in my family. I ended up leaving high school early for a technical school to get my HSED. I still graduated, but it wasn't the same. I didn't get a party or a celebration. After that at 19, I got sent to rehab for being out of control. This was quite the experience in its own. I learned a lot and it did help my life. After that I got sent down to Prescott, AZ for a halfway house. They thought it was a good idea to get me away from all my old friends and triggers. It wasn't easy for me to just pick up and leave to a strange place without any family or friends. After only a few months I left that house because of the drug use and just overall uncomfortable living situations. I worked at a restaurant and continued to work for a few more weeks while staying at a hotel. That's until all my possessions got stolen while I was at work. This was one of the most devastating feelings I've ever felt. 4 days later I was on a plane home to Wisconsin.
The next part of the story isn't great either. When I got back I got back into smoking and drinking with my friends, got in trouble for theft at my work, got fired, and then things went uphill for a little bit. I met my daughter's mom, we ended up having a daughter, Amalia Ann. That changed my whole life. We ended up breaking up, but I remained in Amalia's life until she was 8. She's 12 now. I had trouble keeping a job or finding a passion in life after her mom and I split up. I only got to see her every other weekend. I got behind on child support eventually. That messed up my entire life. I ended up working just to pay my child support. It put me in jail over 5 times for over 8 months in total. Then when she was 8 her mom took her from me due to an ex of mines issues along with my instability and me not being able to keep a job. I'm not going to get into that part of the story itself, because I have lots of regrets about how was acted as a father. She had plenty of reasons to take her away honestly. They all made sense to the courts as well. Today she doesn't have my last name anymore, and she's been adopted by her moms husband. I agreed to that said adoption with her mother in return for her canceling my debt with child support. It was one of the most difficult decisions I've ever made. I lost in court to her every time in the past and I knew the adoption was going to happen regardless if I agreed to it or not. It still breaks my heart I couldn't get my shit together earlier.
When Amalia was only 4 I had a son named Emerson with a different woman. She's never let me had a part of his life. She's got me blocked on all social media and has my number blocked, yet I still pay child support on him today.
This isn't an easy subject for me to talk about. It caused me to deal with the most severe depression I've ever went thru. I was lost, alone, desperate, helpless. I had multiple suicide attempts after I lost her. I had zero hope and zero reasons to want to live at this point in my life. Luckily, I found a wonderful woman at the Fireside Dinner Theater. We both worked there at the time. She turned into a friend at first, then into a lover. She was there to support me when no one else was. She was my life saving gift. She brought me to church, gave me a new relationship with God, and changed my life. About a year and a half into our relationship, it was black Friday, I asked Melissa to get me a canon t6. It was on sale at kohls. I always loved taking photos with my phone. It was a passion of mine. I felt limited tho. So getting this camera changed everything for me. I found a brand new drive, and passion inside me that I never new existed. It completely changed my life. A few months later I traded in the beginner camera for a big boy camera and it's been a blessing ever since. Melissa believing in my skills and her pushing me to pursue my dreams has been the biggest gift I could ever ask for. I'm so proud of the man I am today. Looking back 4 years ago I couldn't say the same thing.
In 2021 my life got flipped upside down, I had one of the biggest struggles of my life with my health. I have struggled greatly with my type 1 diabetes diagnosis. It was a rough start to the year, but as I get more used to the diagnosis, the easier it gets for me! Also this year I met my entire birth family and developed a strong relationship with them throughout the year. That has been the biggest blessing i could have possible received. So all in all 2021 has been so great to me. I truly have a lot to be thankful for.
A look at today and I do photography for a living, I push myself everyday to outdo myself. It's a constant challenge and struggle! But it's life and I love it.
I appreciate each and everyone of you who are along for the ride.