I was arrested for manslaughter, which I am very ashamed of. My crime was accidental, under anger, but it was still a crime against my girlfriend, which I still regret deeply, because I was not the kind of man that hurts women. But here I am.
My own life has been a rollercoaster ride. My mother died and that broke me, and before that I lost my children to adoption. In here, I began working on parenthood because I wanted a connection with my children regardless of my incarceration. Then began anger management to understand where so much anger was coming from.
Since my incarceration, I have taken responsibility to understand what not only anger but domestic violence have in common. It destroys our lives, and we need to educate ourselves on these two most of all, and our own children to stop this cycle of hurting not only our women, but ourselves.
I have learned how to express myself and show compassion to others who struggle the way I do, while being alone and away from family who truly love us. I have learned to control anger, because it is not something I want in my life, and I have found God, and understanding is the greatest thing. We as men need to understand we have mothers and daughters and we do not want them in violent relationships.
It may be hard to take criticism or demands from a woman, but we need to sit with our women when things ain’t right instead of reacting, because it is wrong and we lose.
I strive for greatness and have taught my children from these walls, and they have become much better than I. I love people because now I love myself, because of faith. I want to become an author and an educator of domestic violence so men can know we must stop the cycle at once. I will be released soon, and my goals are simple: a good woman, a good job and a good church. I do not worry about anyone judging me, because I was already judged.
My brothers and sisters at Humans of San Quentin, my love and prayers, and thank you all for reading this and for the opportunity to express myself and let others know that you are beautiful regardless of who you are or where you are at.
Peace.
