Getting the entire class involved in designing the activities for all, she’d helped the students gain empathy, and made sure that those students with special needs are also, involved in the physical education courses too, off of the Front Page Sections, translated…
The Hsinbei City Banciao High School instructor, Yang worked hard to innovate the kinesiology courses, set up the specialty instructors’ group with other physical education teachers in the country, to develop the creative, innovative teaching materials. Through the teamwork, the project-based learning methods, the modules of physical education, incorporating the technologies, helped the students find their passions for the exercises, the sports, and regained their self-confidence, she’d competed in the creative kinesiology lesson plans competitions and won many awards, she had won the Teacher of the Year Award this year for the innovations in teaching physical education.
the coach, with the students in basketball practice!
photo from online
Other than a homeroom instructor, she’s also, the boys’ basketball coach, the P.E. teacher, also the Kinesiology Science Center’s Seed teacher, gotten involved in the NPDL, the Department of Education’s QPE plans, toured as a guest lecturer, shared her experience, showed her passions in all areas of education.
One of her student, Yen, with cerebral palsy, who’d often, “drove” her electrical wheelchair around the school. Yang-Yang, the visually impaired student who can see no more than six inches before his face, is quite agile, can always dodge the obstacles right before he’d, bumped into them. At a substitute for the special needs instructor, she’d gotten the opportunity to work with these students, and, promised to give them, “a P.E. class for you like everybody else!”
First, Yang used the health and leisure activities to help increase the depth of her courses, to give the students who has her for electives a first hand experience of how the handicapped had experienced things differently, and had the students’ input, in coming up with the fitting physical activities for the whole class to get involved with, through the test trials, the amending the procedural, through the team games, to help the students gain empathy, to having the students sit in the wheelchairs, with the patches covering their eyes, to have the students imagine, the challenges the special needs students may face, and how they’re to, get pass the challenges.
Yang told, that the belief of education she wanted to pass to her students is turning the limits to opportunities, through the creativity of the classes, she’d, set up the what seemed to be, impossible P.E. course.
with the assortments of materials she uses, to design the P.E. activities…photo from online
And so, this instructor not only, taught her kids that exercise is important, in staying health, through getting the class involved in designing the activities that the special needs students can also get involved in, she’d taught them about empathy as well, amazing, this woman, in having her students get involved in the hands-on, to teach them about accepting those who are, different than they are, and that is something, that her class will find useful, even outside of the school setting.
The memories, of how you’d, saved a student from committing suicide, of how she’d, thanked you, by sending you that, package to let you know, that she is now, okay…translated…
On the eve of Confucius’s birthday, I’d recalled something that’s, happened from the past.
I’m a psychiatrist in practice, and worked with the Department of Education, the school instructors, made the lectures of suicide preventing to the instructors in the elementary and middle school levels. One evening a little more than a decade ago, I’d gone to a middle school by the river in the south of the city to visit. Recalled that that evening, the seminar held in the evenings was very, welcoming, in the time, I’d had the seventy to eighty instructors in the audience to split themselves into groups of three, sharing within the groups, their encounters of their students’ having mutilated themselves, or suicide attempts, or having lost a student to suicide.
During the break, an experienced female instructor came and told me a story. This almost retired Chinese instructor told me, that she had taught a girl. To help her students feel motivated in learning, she’d assigned the play of “Romeo & Juliet” in her Chinese language courses, for the students to fight for the roles that they wanted to play. As it came time to select the Juliet, normally, it would be the prettiest girl in the class who raised up her hand, but it wasn’t.
Although, she was, hesitant, she’d still, let the girl play the role, as that female student had, wished to play the role of, Juliet.
As the play successfully got finished, this event, got lost, in the busyness of the semester, didn’t leave a single, ripple, it seemed. What caused the waves, was that winter, on a day too cold. One day after class, this girl whom nobody noticed, walked out of the school. Nobody paid any attention, that she’d, walked over the embankment, and, into, the, river.
And maybe, it was, how cold it was on the day. Or maybe, it’s the person who’d wanted to commit suicide being, hesitant (The to be or not to be), this adolescent finally, made her way, back up the shores, entered back into the school, and, the school officials found her completely wet (maybe, frozen too!). The thrilled instructors ushered her to the principal’s office, not known what they should, say to her.
illustration from UDN.com
This Chinese instructor recalled, as she was called to the principal’s office, she’d, learned that this young girl had, attempted suicide. “I wasn’t her homeroom instructor, had no idea of her background, and her situation. But this kid told the principal, that she wanted, to, see me.” And yet, being young, the instructor felt anxious then, not known how to counsel a student who’d, just, almost entered into the gates of, hell.
The moment the instructor was forced to walk into the principal’s office, she’d had a thought, pretended that she’d not know what had just happened, as she saw the child, with the fallen leaves stuck on her waist and areas below, she’d, rushed up to her, exclaimed, “My Juliet! What happened to you?”, and hugged the girl, really tight.
Time flew quickly, as the graduating class graduated, life fast-forwarded close to a full decade’s time. She’d also, forgotten about this, particular, student, until one day, in school, she’d received a package from that young woman.
Inside it, what would, she find?
She was surprised, and, uneasy, slowly, opening up the package. There were, the copies of pages of paper. It was from the girl’s middle school, technical high school, community college, the certifications she’d earned, the awards certificates, and the diplomas.
That evening, in the middle school south of down, that instructor slowly told of the story of then, and hoped, that in the future, in my suicide prevention seminars, she could, share the story she’d, told me. The instructor looked very, peaceful, but I was, really moved inside.
Actually, in the hundreds of seminars for the past decade or so, I’d not mentioned this story often. Or maybe, I have, yet to get over the shock it’d, left me, as I’d told this story to the audience, everything stopped whispering, and there was NO sound, and I saw some instructors, secretly, wiping away their, tears.
Confucius birthday comes every year, but I keep on thinking, what, better gift there was, than this, package, on this, day, to celebrate, the teachers?
And so, this is, the huge difference that, a school teacher’s care toward a student can have on the student’s life, this instructor’s hug of the student, helped her turn her own life around, and it’d helped her gain the strengths to keep on going in her life, and the student gave the best present back to the instructor who’d helped her, by sending the package of all of her, important milestone markers, to let the instructor know, that she’s, okay now.
On offering help to the students from lesser backgrounds, so they can, have a chance to shine, in their fields of expertise, from an educator, off of the Front Page Sections, translated…
On Monday, the office manager of the school we were sponsoring sent a LINE cutoff, it was from the parent of a student; as I’d read it, my heart started aching. It’d mentioned, that the mother had sent her son to the Saturday talent courses we’d helped sponsored, and, she’d sent her son who’d not performed well in school to the classes, so he can have a goal to motivate himself to learn, so he wouldn’t have too much leisure time on the weekends. And, a year after taking the courses, her son entered into the WRO competitions, and earned the first place nationally, “I never knew that my son was, so outstanding”, the mother told, that the award had made both her and her husband, ecstatic.
But before Mid-Autumn, the school contacted them, said that their son can represent the country to fly to Germany for competition, but the traveling cost is around $100,000N.T.s. And they were trapped in the trials, being poor, it was hard enough, keeping enough food on the tables for their children, how can they possibly get the needed amount for their son’s trip? The father of the child texted, “as we got home, my wife cried through the night.” Ultimately, they’d decided, to not sent their son to Germany to compete, reading the words, I’d felt the mother’s pains, that sense of helplessness, of knowing that there’s a chance for your young, but you can’t make it, it may be the harshest sort of trial, it’s a wonder, she’d, cried the whole night.
The school department head told them to keep their hopes alive, that the school can help getting enough funding; I’d immediately told this to the board, and the C.E.O. was glad, that our program could help the children become excellent at something; and on the other hand, he’d felt bad for the child, and, didn’t want to see the young lad give up his chance to go abroad to compete, so he’d decided, to sponsor the young lad fully.
To this point, this student, along with another student who also isn’t from a well-to-do home, are both heading off abroad to compete internationally in November. Actually, there are many cases like these, with the school working hard, to help the students, and the students worked hard, getting the accolades, but, with the joys and the achievements, were the worries of not making enough money to send these excellent students abroad to compete.
Thankfully, from my understanding, there’d been, many enterprises that had been willing to help the children achieve their, dreams, and there were the schools that helped the students, come up with the ways that they could “earn” the amount together, and all of these hard work, are the lights to the children’s, lives, enough to help them get out from the valleys of darkness of their, lives.
The children wrote the board to say thank you, the C.E.O. stated humbly, that it was, the least he could do, maybe, this was nothing for a huge enterprise, but for a child, this may be the chance of a lifetime, to help turn her/his life, around. A light is, a hope, there are, the stars that shone the hope in this society of ours, looking up at them, they will help us find the motivations to keep on working hard, to give some hope to the children in need.
And so, this is the goodwill of the local charitable foundations, because they see that a child had an opportunity to become recognized, but the families didn’t have enough money, and so, these foundations stepped in, to sponsor them, hoping that this small help (to the foundations!), will help these younger generations find the motivations to keep on excelling in whatever it is that they’re working towards.
Giving all she could, to others who are in more need than she and her family is, the kindness, still happening, despite how the economic is getting worse, off of the Front Page Sections, translated…
A few days ago, when I got home, my mother who was selling the produces downstairs came up and asked me gleefully, guess how much we made from the vegetables these past two days?
From before, and my mother’s gloating means, I’d stated, “three, four thousand dollars?”, she’d smiled, and told me the “correct answer”: I made four hundred on Thursday, three hundred on Friday. This was, the lowest on my mother’s record of sales; she’d made seven hundred in two days, meaning, that deducting the cost, she and my older sister only made three, four hundred, and they split that amongst themselves.
My mother said, that at least, she’d paid no rent on the vegetable stand, the stand with the salted fish opposite, was rented to him for over $800N.T.s, and for the entire morn, he’d only, sold one fish. It’s a wonder, that my mother was, laughing about it, everybody is competing to see who’s worse off than whom! She surely, found the bright side to what’s, too dark here.
Everybody’s not doing well, and, we’d accumulated the produces we sold. But because we can’t get the customers, and we needed to make a living, and so, we’d, traded with other vendors, some of the fruits, because of health issues, some of the family members can’t enjoy, and, we’d had to, trade them all out to others. My mother told me: just see it as doing the good deeds. And so, we can, only, give those produces, fruits away, free of charge.
More than a decade ago, this tiny stand, helped my mother make her retirement pensions, and these past few years, she’d worked to sell the produces for the sake of her health, and, since the pandemic started three years ago, she’d sold from her stand, based off of her good will, giving back to the local communities.
To save up the cost of operations, the vendors wouldn’t even turn on the electric fans, because the renters would charge another fifty extra, and the stands from the left and right of my mother asked her to get the head of the fan to rotate, so they can get some cooled air too, to help everybody stay cool, we’d switched to an industrial fan.
That day, the older woman who sold the vegetarian sticky rice begged my mother, that she’d not asked my mother for a “favor”. That even though, she’d brought only half of what she normally sells, there are still, a ton left over, that it would be hard for her to bring the unsold amount back home again, asked my mother to buy from her. So, my mother bought three kilograms, and the following day, she’d brought it heated up, to give it to the other owners of stands around her.
My mother said, that all the vendors can’t understand, how the business is so awful, it wasn’t the end of month, nor had the school started yet, how come there’s just, not enough, shoppers? For my mother’s generations, they had no concepts of what inflation was, let alone, global warming, but the Ukrainian-Russian Conflicts they knew of, but, tying all of that with how the sales of food had gone down at the local markets, I’m afraid, it would take me, ages to help her understand, and so, I’d told her straight up: the oils we used, a sixty-dollar increase, and, a few days ago, it’d, gone up another twenty-dollars.
From before, there was the tiny price hikes, and these price hikes had to get pass the numerous evaluations, and now, the costs rise up as they pleased, not only in huge ratios, and in everything too.
My mother seemed to understand, why there are, not enough shoppers at the markets then! I’d told her, “at least we don’t pay the rents for the stands, we have a roof over our heads, no debts, and we’re all, quite healthy…we are, blessed, although we don’t have a whole lot, but if we’re willing, we can still, help others who are, less, fortunate than us.
Last year on my mother’s birthday, I’d prepared a sum to get my mother on a trip, but I’d canceled due to the outbreaks, and I’d asked her if she wanted to donate the amount to charity, because a lot of people in this country aren’t, making it. She’d stated, “donating this sum to those who are in need, it’s a good call!”
And so, this, is on giving back to the communities, even if this family isn’t rich, they’re, middle class, making it on their business of selling the produces at the local markets, and yet, the members of this family have good hearts, and, they’re, helping others who are in more need than they are, using what they have, to give back.
The kindness from an unknown stranger, took to heart! Translated…
The thundershowers in the afternoons caught us all off-guard, and we’d, dodged the rains like wet rats.
My relative’s only daughter finally found the one, and decided to get married, and yet, MERS-CoV came, and everything got stalled, the two families got taxed, strained, from the wedding preparations, and the defending against the pandemic. After the many rehearsals, the families decided to hold the wedding ceremonies outdoor, in the tents that can get, set up, inviting all of the families, relatives, friends too, to offer the newlyweds the blessings, to bring this celebratory mood to all, but not the banquets, and, the families hired the five-star chefs to make the takeout meals, for the guests to take them home to enjoy. The newlywed written on the invitations, that everybody should greet each other, by nodding heads, and not shaking hands, and, to mask up, in the get-together.
I’d set up the meet up with my young cousin close to an intersection of the banquet hall, and yet, the afternoon showers came, too hard hitting, as I exited the MRT stations, the wind and the rain came at me really hard. Normally, I would’ve, run, rammed off, and yet, I had my hair done, I was in a pencil skirt, high heels, there was NO way I was going to be able to run fast.
Seeing how the time is quickly approaching, I’d called up my cousin, I got her voice mail, the rain got worse, I became flustered, worried, completely stressed out. As I was at my wit’s end, an older woman with gray hairs approached me, “forgotten to take an umbrella? Take mine, I live close around the corner, I won’t get too wet, you are dressed up, and, it would be a total shame if you got completely wet!”, I’d kept thanking her, wanted to get her address, she’d waved goodbye and left.
The older woman helped me with my immediate problems, and, I’d made it to the wedding on time, and I couldn’t, thank her. And so, I’d, placed that umbrella into the compassion umbrella box set up at the MRT station after the wedding was over, so this kindness will continue to get pass on down. At the same time, I’d taken a note of the kindness shown toward me by the unknown stranger, reminded myself, “no small deeds of kindness are overlooked!”
And so, this is how the help from a random stranger had, touched you, because the woman’s umbrella came right in time, when you needed it the most, and, you took her kindness to heart, and, as you were shown the kindness by this unknown stranger, that seed of care and concern for others got sown down, and you’d, passed along the kindness which was shown to you by this unknown woman, to someone else who may also be in need as well.
Being kind to someone else in need, how one act of kindness, generates itself, turns into more acts of kindness that gets, passed around, translated…
At the start of summer, the early mornings in Taipei is still a bit cooled, I was wearing a long-sleeve shirt, waiting all on my own, at the bus stop. It was about 6:30, almost no one else was on the streets, and, every now and then, the passing of the cars, broke the silence of the streets.
A homeless man, who looked very dirty, with the torn shirt sleeve shirt came to the bus stop, with a dirty linen bag on him, perhaps, it’d contained, everything he’d owned? He got on the bus as I had, not long thereafter, the bus stopped at the light, the driver suddenly got out of his seat, walked toward the homeless man, told him, “your mask is dirty, you need a brand new one!”, then, handed the man two brand new masks, the homeless man was stunned, didn’t know how to respond, while I was, touched by the driver’s kindness, so, the driver pays attention to all who alighted his bus.
At this time when the pandemic is running high, as everybody was standing in line, trying to get the ration of the quick scan kits, there may be those who don’t even have enough masks to change out of, for most, these masks are use-and-toss, but for the homeless, it’s a precious resource. And, my heart felt heavy up to here, what, can I do?
So I’d, opened up my pack, and, puled out all the spare masks from my bag, and before I got off the bus, I’d, handed all of it to that homeless man, he was thrilled, then, nodded toward me, and I’d, waved goodbye to him, and, silently prayed, that everything will be okay for him.
And so, this is how the bus driver’s kindness toward the homeless man, had generated the thought of kindness in this person, and, this person realized that s/he had more than enough of what s/he was in need of, and, gave it to the homeless man who is lacking in the supplies to protect himself against contracting MERS-CoV.
From the perspectives of the hospital staff members during the outbreaks here, the stories of hope, in times of MERS-CoV outbreak, off of the Front Page Sections, translated…
What do the nurses see, under this current wave of, outbreak? The endless amount of care provisions that they’re, pounded by, we’d gone to work, with our footsteps leaden, not knowing, what sort of a challenge awaits us today.
There were the locals that kept complaining about how their children are running a fever, those who’d come into the E.R. stressed, asking what to do, as their elders’ quick-scan showed positive? The policies by the Central Government is constantly changing, new rules set up, every couple of days, and as we’d received the notices of how something should be done, the following day, it’d, changed. The hotline that got jammed up, the ambiguous memos, we can’t even understand it, as medical professionals let alone for the general public.
Other than my job as a staff member of the E.R., I now also work, as a hotline operator too, bombarded with a ton of questions I can’t even think of the answers to, and, it’d caused those of us, with strong hearts, working in the E.R., slowly, losing our, energies too. And we work every day now, like zombies, and all we can do, is give one another the encouragements, that we are, E.R. staff, that everybody else can fall, but we can’t! That we can, handle this! And yet, one of our nurses was confirmed of contraction, and we are, tighter on personnel every shift, that younger schoolmate of ours, with her fever, cried to apologize, that she can’t, return back to work to help us lighten the load of work, as her coworker, I’d, felt bad for all of us.
As our energies are completely maxed, there were, the stories of warmth that came to me. At scan time, before I got to my post of work, I’d told the members of the public waiting there: if there are those elderly population or foreigners who don’t know how the QR code works, please, everybody, help them out, to fill the forms for them; and, everybody looked toward me, and nodded, and suddenly, I’d felt, so moved! Surely, a lot of those who don’t know how to fill out the forms, can get help from others who were waiting there!
And, there’s one more thing, as I was, getting a ton of quick scan registration, a woman walked up and asked, “Do children have priority in the quick scans?”, I looked at her, and saw no infant, so I’d asked her: “why? What’s happened”, the woman told me, that there is a mom waiting with her infant for a very long time already, can you go check him out first? I’d immediately asked the mother over, and saw that the infant she had in her arms, was a bit, lethargic, and as I’d inquired, I’d learned, that the infant had a positive quick scan result, but she couldn’t get the number tags, and was stressed over what to do, I’d immediately called the E.R. to get someone to offer her assistance, the mom’s worried looks, looked relaxed, and told me thank you; no, you shouldn’t thank me, but the woman who’d found you guys. It’s truly moving to see, that the woman who is also ill, can still find the means to help another out!
And these two incidents had, warmed up the E.R. nurses’ hearts, and this war is continuing onward, and we will, work even harder to provide you all, with the help you need, thank you for giving us the positive energies!
And so, these are stories of hope that’s, in the midst, of this, dark world, and we need to notice these things more, because, these are the easily missed things that can give us the needed boosts, to carry on, because there’s still NO end in sight with this war of MERS-CoV yet!
Finally, some, good news, the good will of the people who’d, set up this shop, with the wills to help those who lost their support from their own families, a social enterprise, off of the Newspapers, translated…
The bagel shop “Good Trees Better Fruits” in Pingzhen, Taoyuan, the founders, the married couple Huang and Chen, through the bagels that they sold, they’d connected with the younger generations of fragile families, hoping their cares and concerns can make them feel more encouraged and loved, to help them find a way to show off their values of life; all the workers, the manager, the pastry chef of the shop are all under age thirty, they’d turned the shop into their home away from home, and found their point to begin again in their own separate, lives.
The bagels of the shop were on display, from the selecting of the ingredients, the kneading of the dough, the fermenting of the dough, the baking, the setting the dough to better appearances, every step to make the bagels are thoroughly thought and planned out.
the founder on the left, Chen, with the store manager, Huang, photo courtesy of UDN.com
Huang’s belief was using the bagels, to turn the stories of life of his team of employees, into the blessing for someone else. And now, the couple not only owned and operated the bagel shop, they’d also started up a foundation, “The Tree of Life Leadership Organization of Taoyuan”, to help the younger generations to start up their own businesses, to help them get employment.
Recalling how back in 2019, they’d started from the tiny warehouse space as a shop, Chen recalled, how they’d lacked the funding, no connections, let alone, a shopfront, and every day, he’d worried of not getting what he’d made sold completely; thankfully due to the online business means, along with how the reputation of the shop is being set up, they’d gone against the flow, and made their business a success.
The store manager, Huang, due to problems in his family was forced to separate from his own parents, and at his worst, he’d not had enough money to pay for his rent, his utilities, and bought the nearing expiration date items as food. Another young store manager, Lai, her parents were addicts, in and out of prison a lot, with nobody she could rely on after her grandmother passed away. There were also the baker who’d served five years in prison due to gang relations, the mother of three who’d lacked the self-confidence, the baker who’d started on his own since before age twenty, they’d all found their brand new start in life at “Good Trees, Better Fruits”.
And so, this is the heart of this young couple, who saw a need of the younger generations, and gave them a place to work, to use their own abilities to make a living for themselves, and this shop offered its employees a brand new start on life, gave them another chance to begin anew in their own separate lives.
This is a good shop, with the beliefs of operations in helping others find their way!
This man, found his own friend’s life more important than his own active arrest warrant, and made the right judgment call, how this is a step toward the right direction in this man’s life, off of the Front Page Sections, translated…
A man, Pan from Kaohsiung awhile ago, went with his friend, Chang to the mountains to pick the herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine, and on the third day, Chang felt sick, and started defecating blood; Pan was worried that his friend might die in the mountains, risked his identity of being a criminal with an active arrest warrant on him being found out, went down the mountains, and reported his friend’s conditions to the police, then, led the police and the fire department up the mountains to save his own friend’s life. As he was taken into custody, he’d stated, “Even though now I’m arrested for my drug charges, but at least, I still have my conscience intact.”
The sixty-four year-old Pan had been friends with Chang for thirty, forty years, the two went to the Five Creeks Mountain regions of Taoyuan District in Kaohsiung to pick the Chinese herbal medicines on the twenty-sixth of this month. At around noon of the twenty-eighth, Chang suddenly fell ill, and started defecating blood, although he’d not ruled it out as his stomach bleeding, but, worried, that if he didn’t get sent to the hospitals, he may be in life-threatening danger, and that was when Pan decided to go down the mountains to get him the help he needed.
Pan had an active arrest warrant on illegal substances on him at the beginning of March, he knew, that if he’d rushed to the substations to call for help for his friend, and filled out the forms, his status of being a criminal might get found out, but, as he’d arrived to the Meishan Substation to report, he’d still used his real identity, and the local police immediately found, that he had an active arrest warrant signed by the Chiaotou D.A.’s Office. Pan told the officers, that his friend’s life is in danger that he wasn’t going to run.
The police then contacted the local fire department, the Yushan National Park management, the Seventh local safety squad, and the officials set up a search and rescue team, and Pan led them to his friend, and they were able to find Chang on the twenty-ninth, and lifted him off the mountains, got him the help he needed, he is in the hospital for an extended stay.
And so, this man realized, that his friend’s life was more important than the fact that he had an active arrest warrant, that’s why he’d gone to the police station, to get help for his friend who’d fallen ill in the mountains, and his risking getting caught (which he was!), was what saved his friend, and, that counts for something, and I’m sure, that after he served his time, he will, turn over that new leaf, and leave his criminal pasts behind him for good.
Repeated in that vicious cycle of his own misbehaviors, led him down this path of, no return, and now finally, as he sits in his cell, he’d, realized what he’d done, and what he can do, to turn his own life, around, translated…
For Most, This is a Hopeless Sort of Life……………
My rebirth from the flames, started from owing two hundred million dollars, the ability to introspect, to admit to what I’d done was wrong, was from my twelve years’ sentence in prison. For most, this is a life without the chances, but to me, it’s, a brand new, beautiful, beginning, because, I’m now able to use my mindset of learning for life, to, turn the bottom half of my own life, around.
Walking on That, Right Path, Finally
Back when I was too young to know any better, I’d thought, that putting my fist out to help a friend, is the true meaning of giving them the support they were looking for, and yet, what I got were, the conflicts of the fights I’d gotten in, at age twenty, I’d, faced my very first, prison sentence, being taken into, custody. Everybody told, that the longer you get locked up in prison, the more badass you’d, become, that it’s the path, of becoming a gangster, so, the very first time I got stuck in a cage, I just wanted to, make more friends, to expand my connections. And surely, I’d not changed a bit after I’d made bail, and, I’d, hit the walls, soon enough, and only, stayed out of prison, for one short, year’s time.
The second time I got taken into custody, I’d met a white collar criminal, the worst step I’d, ever taken, and became, a con artist, got on that path of, no return. The second time I’d made bail, I went into business with a friend, and, wrote the scripts, used the cons, to get my very first bucket of gold in life, ever since, I’d, gotten lost in the nightlife, took up the habits of gambling, and, started, squandering everything away to soon, which was a proof of, traveling down the wrong road, it’ll, catch up to you eventually.
illustration from UDN.com
By age twenty-five, I’d faced my third, two years’ worth of prison sentence, being righteous toward my friends, I’d, taken all the blames, and in return, all my friends, they’d, deserted me. My wife went into labor when I was held in custody, and she was too distressed and had postpartum depression, and in the end, my only source of strength was my parents’ never giving up on me, which was, the start of, me, waking up, and turning my life, around. I’d started, making friends with books, started getting into the habits of reading, to change my own heart, and understood the meanings of, “helping others” and the meanings of “helping another is helping ourselves”. My own experiences made me reached out to my fellow inmates, hoping they don’t travel down this same wrong path I had, to improve themselves, for those around them.
The two years’ prison terms, I’d, come to understand, that the justice system is maxed out in giving me my second chances, that every time I returned back to the society, I’d, strayed, farther from I did before, that I may not have the opportunity to get out, on good behaviors again; and, maybe, it’s going to take me more years to finally appreciate being able to feel the love from my parents, to find the blessings of sharing a meal with my wife and children. And yet, in my time of serving prison, I was, blessed by heavens above, as I was told, that I was allowed to make bail a third time, I’d sworn, that in the time I’m serving, I shall, stay away from the bad, and, start walking out, a better path of life for myself.
The Encouragements to Myself, “It Takes Ten Years to Make a Perfectly Sharpened Sword”
After I’d made bail, I’d, still, gathered with those friends, but without, the bad influences, sharing only the ideals, and I’d, come to understand, how those friends’ not, deserting me was, too precious to, come by. As my case was still pending, I’d discussed with a friend on the future direction of my own life, “We’ll try it with you.” with their supports I’d, become, an entrepreneur. And, as I got totally immersed in what I was doing, I fell, in love, and in the process, I’d come to understand the meaning of “there’s a house of gold in every book”, the books I’d read in prison became quite useful in business, I’d started up from the fundamentals, and because of how my partners and I were on the same page, in only three short years, we’d, made a “good grade”. I’m more than grateful to my friends’ trusts in me, from the team of five originally, squatted inside that compressed, tiny office, and now, we’d, expanded to more than thirty employees.
During the time of our startup, I’d worked in the merchandising department, and, used the knowledge I’d read up on in the books from prison, to lower the costs and to barter with the providers, but, being a con artist myself, I got, conned, and, I’d originally wanted to, shoulder the money I’d lost for the firm, but, my partners denied my request to, and said, that the company will pay up the total. And in the end, the providers were touched by my story of turning my own life around, and, refunded the amount we’d lost back to us.
We all eventually, pay for our own, mistakes. My trial dragged out for three full years, as I’d gotten that serving sentence to prison, I’d felt upset, but I’d not, gone back on that promise I’d made three years ago when I’d made bail then, and my families saw how hard I’d, tried to work to turn my life around too.
And to this very day, whenever I get anxious, upset, or agitated, I’d still told myself, “it takes ten years to sharpen that sword”, we needed to trim the rough edges of our own character off, to better our own, abilities too, and I’d understood the true meaning of “only when you change for the better, the meanings of you becoming a man showed.”
still serving his time…
repenting for what he did…photo from online
I am, a textbook example, although I’d still caused myself to get stuck, but I hope, that the life experiences of this decade of life from my twenties to my thirties, can help light the way for all those who are currently lost at the crossroads of their own, lives.
And so, this is the man’s, tracing the wrong steps he’d taken in his own life thus far, and as he’s serving his current prison term (hopefully his very last one!), he’d, realized the wrong steps he’d taken thus far, and, decided to make the changes, to make sure he doesn’t, go down the wrong roads in his own life again, and hopefully, that will to change in him, will be enough, to keep him from straying again.
Mirroring the World 
You must be logged in to post a comment.