How I Got Here (2)

We began chauffering a prostitute around; we were armed security guards. She was a highclass escort. We made $300 a day each.We worked 24/7 with hardly any breaks. We sat for hours at a time in the car waiting for her to be done with the trick.We became greedy and decided we would no longer wait for her to really do the deed.One day we became impatient and rushed the room where the trick was making a deal with our escort. We robbed him for everything he had; it was easy and the adrenaline rush was priceless. It was an everyday thing until one day a target of ours gave us a taste of our own medicine. As we sat outside waiting for the signal to come in, we heard screaming. My cousin and I realized that we may have to actually use the guns we carried. As we ran up to the house through the window, we saw our target holding a knife to the throat of the escort. He was taking advantage of her and had no idea what was about to happen.With one kick I knocked the door down. Without getting into details, we got her out safely and got our money. This experience caused our escort to quit, and we were unemployed. We became desperate so we started placing false ads on Craigslist and robbing the people were "interested" in purchasing our merchandise. i started really feeling bad for all the things I was doing. It was just about father's day after my 18th birthday. My sister called and invited me to go to our parents house with her to celebrate father's day. I knew I wanted to be home. Once there, I asked my parents if I could stay. I honestly tried staying out of trouble but still had an emptimess about my life. I needed money to do whatever I felt like doing. I began selling weed and ecstacy. i fought all the time and over small drama. Then one day I met a girl. I started hanging out with her everyday and put my other life behind me. Shortly after meeting her, my past caught up to me. My house was raided at 4 am and I was arrested. I was charged with 13 armed robberies with the use of a firearm, kidnapping, home invasion and other misc. charges. my family had no idea what I had done while I was gone. My father bailed me out and we immediately began looking for a lawyer. I was still with the girl I changed my life for and she stood by my side strong. While on bail I faced life in prison for all the dirt I had done. My family never lost hope and they never gave up on me. I turned to weed and alcohol to numb my pain. I remained selfish still. It is hard to admit, but I wasn't really upset that I may have to leave my family and girlfriend for life. I was upset because I could no longer live the lifestyle I was so addicted to. I ended up getting an offer 10 months after being arrested. Five years and 2 strikes. (My cousin got off easy; 2 years with 1 strike. By the time he received his sentence, he had already been locked up for close to two years because he wasn't bailed out.) Some thought I got off lucky, some thought I got broken off, but only I knew all the things I was really doing. So between you and me, a deal of 5 years and 2 strikes was an act of God. After my goodbyes I was off to LA county and the ripe age of 19. I learned quickly that white boys don't walk through easy. I found myself in the hole very quickly. Thirty six days later, I was off to prison. This is where every man has to prove themselves and earn their stay. Back and forth to the hole I ran into many problems. Race riots were only the beginning. There was no time where you could relax. You would be stupid to olet your guard down. I became addicted to the respect so I raised my hand for every job that needed done. Whatever it was- to jump one of my own or if it was to get a knife to the yard. I soon found myself in charge of the homeboys from my area. I started living a carefree life again. I started popping pills to numb the pain of the penetentrary. My addictive personality soon took control as usual. I found myself in thousands of dollars in debt every week. The big homeboys became tired of it and gave me an ultamatum. By now I had run my family into the dirt financially and emotionally. I had also run the love of my life away. i was disciplined several times in my cell. One on one, two one and three on one, but still I didn't stop. I had one last chance to make it right with the homeboys- whack a child molester. That's when God finally helped me realize that I was ruining my life. I decided it wasn't too late to save my future. I decided to drop out. I went to the hole and into protective custody after years of putting my life on the line. My family supported me entirely and were relieved to know I would no longer be risking my life. I sat in the hole praying that the ones I've hurt would someday forgive me. I was transferred to an SNY prison closer to home and I got a brand new start. With my family still by my side I began living my life in here for my future out there. I truely would like to say without my familyand the ones that loved me no matter what, I would probably be doing life in prison or be dead. But instead, I am less than two years to the house, I got my highschool diploma, I am enrolled in college courses and I'm getting married September 9th to the woman that stood by my side. Anyone that reads this I want you to know that I've been through some of the toughest things possible and I still made it. It is never too late to fix your life. It took me a whole lot to finally realize that my life could be different, but it's better late than never. I've got an extremely dark past but I have an amazingly bright future, and I have all the support to make it possible. Thank you for letting me share where I've been and the things I've conquered. You have to realize that in order to really change  your life for the better you have to make durastic changes. Anything and everyone involved in your old lifestyle has to go in order for it to be a real change for the better.                  -M