Prison can be "make or break" for some, I've found over the years. Some have made the best of one of the worst situations they will ever find themselves in the midst of. Some have exited better criminals than when they entered. And some have merely survived.
I wasn't sure what to expect for this young man, 18 when arrested and about to turn 23. He's moved around a bit from facility to facility for a variety of reasons but recently landed himself in a minimum security location I'm familiar with because I used to go visit another kid there over a decade ago. In the world of prisons, it's probably one of the best places to end up (in my opinion).
In a recent letter, he explained to me that he ended up eligible for the move which I didn't think possible given the nature of his crime. Also, it's a privilege to be able to end up there. What this means is that he hasn't been a part of any shenanigans (LOVE using that word) while he's journeyed through the system which would have disqualified him. A good thing!
He also managed to get his GED. Bonus. He mentioned in his letter that the day he was writing me was 4 years to the day that he'd lost his freedom...and he had less than halfway to go. I remember that day well, or at least the day after when I read his name in the paper in connection to a local crime and yelled out loud in my kitchen.
Our correspondence has been less than in years past with other kids. It's gone through the normal patterns I've come to expect and we've ended up in a comfortable place. He recently reconnected with a former love interest he'd had years back and is hopeful to be able to "start something" once he gets out. Family has been mostly absent. I've said no to many requests (reaching out to friends on his Facebook page, for example) and yes to a few (sending song lyrics & old pictures of himself from the YouthBuild days).
Will he stay the course and continue to write positive chapters? I hope so. I try to be consistent with my messaging, reminding him to stay positive and peaceful and focus on bettering himself. I'm not sure if any of this makes a difference at all, the influences of being among hundreds of prisoners day in and day out tending to outweigh the letters and cards he gets from me every couple of months, I think??? Still, I do recall telling him at one point when he asked why I was still "there" for him (and this was early on) that he was a worthwhile investment of my time and I believed he could do great things. I do still believe that. In fact, I believe it about anyone that's willing to take the steps to get there. Anyone can write new chapters...I just feel blessed to be able to be written into a few.
No comments:
Post a Comment