Life’s biggest achievements always belong to the ones that made them happen. For many of us, staggering success isn’t as important as simply proving to ourselves that we can be better today than we were yesterday. Those little victories often amount to big ones, and for Siearrah Collins, they’ve been able to give her a new and better life than she ever dreamed of having.

Born in Knoxville, Siearrah was raised by a working mother and father but with a long history of addiction. At the time, she didn’t have the luxury of being aware of the mental illness she would later be diagnosed with, only unhealthy outlets to put her frustration towards. She ended up in juvenile probation before eventually being moved into the foster system, which would give her first exposure to the medicine and treatments she needed. At 16, she gave birth to a daughter, before the world around her would start to crumble.

“I ended up in a real abusive relationship,” Siearrah recounts. “He ended up burning my house down when I was 18 and that’s when my whole life changed. I lost custody and I just lost control. Started using drugs, partying, in and out of relationships, some being extremely abusive.”

That relationship invited more like it, and eventually pushed Siearrah out of college and work, before rock bottom quickly found her. It wasn’t until a petty car theft got her into legal trouble that she would finally arrive at an opportunity to correct course. Siearrah credits her case manager, Lakin Conley, for starting her on a journey to rehabilitation.

Recently, Siearrah graduated from that initial halfway house Conley introduced her to and she started on new journeys at places like the YWCA, Hand Up for Women and Freedom on the Inside, a program designed to help women who are or were victims of domestic violence.

It’s been a long journey to get where she is today, but one that accumulated a series of pivotal moments throughout her life.

“I found God, I found my voice and healthy boundaries, I found self-love and self-worth.” Siearrah said.

“I felt loved by the women in my class and those who teach it as well as the staff that help coordinate it. Freedom on the Inside and Hand Up saved and changed my life with the help of rehab and my halfway house getting me stable and the push for the beginning to want to live life right.”

If you know her today, you’d have a hard time believing that her journey was the product of so much hardship. Siearrah is now enrolled in college, where she’s studying psychology and sits on the President’s List sporting a 4.0 GPA. Her relationships with her mother and now 19-year-old daughter are thriving, and her consistency has earned her a new job with steady and reliable pay. Siearrah celebrated three years sober on August 12. The key, she says, was taking responsibility.

“Something that has helped me cope with how others treated me along the way as well as to this day is ‘I am only in control of my own actions.’ and ‘I can’t control the things that bring me down, but I am in control of how long and how I get back up.’ I often would get upset and didn’t handle it well at first until I started reminding myself of those two things.”

After college, Siearrah plans to use her degree in the prison system. She says she wants to be a case manager and work on giving others a second chance at life, just like her managers did. Sharing her story is just the start for more people than just herself.

Adam Delahoussaye is a freelance writer for the KnoxTNToday who loves telling stories about music, arts and culture in and around his hometown. Have a story for Adam? He can be reached at email  or text 865-919-5059 with your story idea.