Hi to everyone again. It's a beautiful day in Georgia, y'all... The air smells delicious and the sun is on chill mode. Lol. I'm thinking about starting a website, but I can't figure out which one is best... Soooo, I'm gonna throw my ideas out there one by one and let you guys be the judge. How about it? OK, so, do we have any felons out there? Lol, no, I'm soooo serious. If any of you aren't felons, chances are you know one or a couple.... I used to think that brothers out there saying how hard it was to find a job were a bunch of losers not trying their hardest. I mean, all that talk about "the man"?? Were they serious? Just get up, get out, and get something. How difficult could it be? Well, let me tell you, from experience, having a felony on your record is one of the most debilitating things that can happen to someone. You are literally stuck when this happens to you. After getting out of jail, most people want to make some kind of money. This is utterly impossible since many employers see the arrest and throw your application in the trash. Lol, and it's funny how they ask you about your criminal past on the application and put in bold letters: A felony conviction doesn't automatically exclude you from consideration for employment. Yeah right!! Yes it does!! If you're honest and put your background on the application, they don't pay it any attention. If you don't write it down, and you get an interview, you still have to pass a background check and we all know it'll eventually come out. Now, sometimes, the punishment doesn't fit the crime. Let's say you have a felony forgery charge for fraudulently signing a traffic ticket in someone else's name.... are you supposed to be labeled as a convicted felon and not be able to work? Not to mention, it's extremely difficult to get financial aid when you have a felony conviction. The government doesn't want you to have any of their free money. Isn't it totally backwards of society to do this? Being a convicted felon is equal to being a 3rd class citizen. We are no longer considered free Americans. We may be out of jail, but we're beingthrown into a whole different type of prison. You can't work, can't vote, can't get financial aid for school and therefore may not be able to further your education.... like I said before, you're STUCK. They make it this way so that there are repeat offenders. This way, the jails will always be heavily populated and making people more and more rich. I mean, come on! With these restrictions, can you honestly be surprised when a felon goes back to the same activities that got him in jail in the first place? If he sold a little cocaine, caught a charge, did 90 days in jail, plead under the first offender's act, got put on probation for 3 years, ordered to pay $4000 in fines, and do 40 hours of community service. This is typical, trust me. So, he's ordered to pay a $4000 fine, right? Where does he get the money with no job? He has to show up to probation every month, be subjected to random drug tests and basically can't even get a traffic ticket or it's right back to jail usually for the remainder of your probation time. It's like, a mistake isn't even a mistake in the government's eyes. Someone could REALLY want to change their lifestyle and because of all the limitations is forced to make money the only way he knows how. Or, you can be like me and just be unemployed for nine months because of the traffic ticket thing I told you about earlier. Yep, that's me!! Signed traffic tickets and was put on probation and labeled a felon. If I want to get my record expunged, there's a huge fee for that. The government really does capitalize off people's mistakes. And, all felons are not child molesters and molesters. Some are just people who didn't know their options during court time, couldn't afford a real attorney and took charges that would've been dropped or made into a misdemeanor. So, if you own a business, don't be so quick to dismiss a felon. Get references, ask for his probation officer's number, clarify what the charges were, see if he's a repeat offender, find out if he's really willing to make a change, and give the man a chance.
Now, what I want to do is come up with an organization that assists convicted felons with resources to help them get their lives back on track. Assist with housing, job preparation, getting a GED, contact businesses to see if they're willing to hire offenders under our rehabilitation program, provide an outlet for offenders so they can hang out with positive individuals instead of resorting back to their prior associates, etc. I would probably start this with a forum type of website and then, try to get grants (lol, yeah, sure the government will assist a felon with helping other felons), or donations for an actual facility. What does everyone think of this idea??? Leave your comments.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
20-something-year-olds
Welcome to my blog!! I was encouraged to start this blog by a very close family friend. Hi San!!! lol. Now, this isn't for just anyone... no, this isn't for the sensitive or the weak-hearted individuals. What I plan to do with this blog is to document my sincere thoughts on pretty much ANYTHING I feel like talking about. You may find something here that catches your eye, or intrigues you. If that's the case-- come back, invite a friend, post a response. I WILL respond. If not, move on, don't return--but, still, tell a friend and post a response!! Lol. Let me give you a little background about me. I am a 26 year old, black female living in suburbial Georgia. I have grown up here and I adore it here. I am the oldest of 7 siblings-- 5 sisters and 2 brothers. I have 4 great parents--yes 4 (people get divorced and re-married). I have worked since I was 14 and have always liked having responsibility although it was brought on a little early. Now---enough about me--- onto the first blog:
Well, today I realized that I'm not getting any younger. Yes, I said it-- any YOUNGER. A lot of older women seem to think that us 20-something-year-olds don't go through any real problems. We do!! For the past three years, I've been struggling with a lot of self doubt, unsure feelings, lostness and overall anxiety. I believe last year I went through a serious bout of depression. I understand that women 30-40 typically are the ones who think they're alone in this area and may say we're crazy thinking we're having issues, but really ladies-- why don't you forget about being 37 and remember what it was REALLY like in your 20's? You were all there!! I hear my older role models (including my mother) say, "Oh please!! Ya'll don't know anything about depression. You're just starting. The worse is yet to come." But, that's my point-- WE'RE JUST STARTING. Honestly, do you all remember how horrible it was when you were trying to figure out where you wanted to go in life? What you wanted to be? What was holding you back? Remember those days? Now, I do believe that most of the older women I know were either married with kids or a single mom at my age and most of their life was about survival for their families. Several of their dreams had to be put on hold for that time and some had to be put on hold perminently. So, maybe now that their kids are grown--- they may be just now going through their "20's"while being in their 40's. Being 26, unmarried, no kids, no house, and no career is really, really taxing on one's self-esteem and overall self-image. Now, I'm not saying that I didn't have options because, trust me, I did. I got into a really great school, but ended up dropping out because of a tragic accident. I was planning on returning after I coped with my loss, but I got caught up in the world of one of the worse addictive jobs out there-- waitressing. Fast money, cash everyday, free food, fast paced environment and no real background in the field was needed. What more could I ask for? I was so caught up in that world and ended up associating with the wrong crowd, doing the wrong things that eventually got me in a situation I couldn't dig myself out of. Back then when I was about 18-21, I was living in the fast lane. Not only was I not paying attention to my spending (I was getting cash everyday-- no paycheck-- if I needed extra, I'd pick up a shift), and I wasn't focusing on my credit. I had a car repossessed, credit cards maxed out, not paying on traffic tickets, and I was truly on a downward spiral. I have yet to ever be stable. Now, I'm not saying this is every single 20-something-year-old out there, but trust me, this is about 75-85% of them. I don't ever think finances was taught to me as a young person. Anywho--- I've also never been married and never been in a relationship long enough to even reach that point. You know why?? Because I've never considered myself stable enough or comfortable enough with myself to be ready to committ. Everything ties into everything. As I embark upon my 27th birthday and the last year before my 10 year high school reunion, I realize how sick it is to be this age with no savings, bad credit, no degree, no training, no career, no house.... basically NOTHING to show for my life. Why would I drag a man into the equation? I've yet to get myself together, therefore, I'm not married and have not had the blessing of a child. Trust me, older women, this is granted as a crisis in my book. Lol, it's funny how I try to do things positively and take 2 steps forward... only to have something from the past 5 years to come right back and bite me in the rear. So, what I'm looking for now are comments, words of encouragement, wisdom, thoughtful insight, prayer, whatever seems to move you-- from all the older women out there. I also wanna know if there are any women in my age group who feel the same way. If so, please, please invite others to read my blog and give me their opinions. Feel free to pass this on to whoever you think needs the encouragement or to whoever you feel can do the encouraging. On the flip side, if you disagree with any of the things I have said--- go ahead and leave your comments as well. I am all ears. Tune in again guys!! Good day, afternoon and night to all.
Well, today I realized that I'm not getting any younger. Yes, I said it-- any YOUNGER. A lot of older women seem to think that us 20-something-year-olds don't go through any real problems. We do!! For the past three years, I've been struggling with a lot of self doubt, unsure feelings, lostness and overall anxiety. I believe last year I went through a serious bout of depression. I understand that women 30-40 typically are the ones who think they're alone in this area and may say we're crazy thinking we're having issues, but really ladies-- why don't you forget about being 37 and remember what it was REALLY like in your 20's? You were all there!! I hear my older role models (including my mother) say, "Oh please!! Ya'll don't know anything about depression. You're just starting. The worse is yet to come." But, that's my point-- WE'RE JUST STARTING. Honestly, do you all remember how horrible it was when you were trying to figure out where you wanted to go in life? What you wanted to be? What was holding you back? Remember those days? Now, I do believe that most of the older women I know were either married with kids or a single mom at my age and most of their life was about survival for their families. Several of their dreams had to be put on hold for that time and some had to be put on hold perminently. So, maybe now that their kids are grown--- they may be just now going through their "20's"while being in their 40's. Being 26, unmarried, no kids, no house, and no career is really, really taxing on one's self-esteem and overall self-image. Now, I'm not saying that I didn't have options because, trust me, I did. I got into a really great school, but ended up dropping out because of a tragic accident. I was planning on returning after I coped with my loss, but I got caught up in the world of one of the worse addictive jobs out there-- waitressing. Fast money, cash everyday, free food, fast paced environment and no real background in the field was needed. What more could I ask for? I was so caught up in that world and ended up associating with the wrong crowd, doing the wrong things that eventually got me in a situation I couldn't dig myself out of. Back then when I was about 18-21, I was living in the fast lane. Not only was I not paying attention to my spending (I was getting cash everyday-- no paycheck-- if I needed extra, I'd pick up a shift), and I wasn't focusing on my credit. I had a car repossessed, credit cards maxed out, not paying on traffic tickets, and I was truly on a downward spiral. I have yet to ever be stable. Now, I'm not saying this is every single 20-something-year-old out there, but trust me, this is about 75-85% of them. I don't ever think finances was taught to me as a young person. Anywho--- I've also never been married and never been in a relationship long enough to even reach that point. You know why?? Because I've never considered myself stable enough or comfortable enough with myself to be ready to committ. Everything ties into everything. As I embark upon my 27th birthday and the last year before my 10 year high school reunion, I realize how sick it is to be this age with no savings, bad credit, no degree, no training, no career, no house.... basically NOTHING to show for my life. Why would I drag a man into the equation? I've yet to get myself together, therefore, I'm not married and have not had the blessing of a child. Trust me, older women, this is granted as a crisis in my book. Lol, it's funny how I try to do things positively and take 2 steps forward... only to have something from the past 5 years to come right back and bite me in the rear. So, what I'm looking for now are comments, words of encouragement, wisdom, thoughtful insight, prayer, whatever seems to move you-- from all the older women out there. I also wanna know if there are any women in my age group who feel the same way. If so, please, please invite others to read my blog and give me their opinions. Feel free to pass this on to whoever you think needs the encouragement or to whoever you feel can do the encouraging. On the flip side, if you disagree with any of the things I have said--- go ahead and leave your comments as well. I am all ears. Tune in again guys!! Good day, afternoon and night to all.
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