My mother, the queen of my universe, did everything she could to protect me from the negatives around us.
I wake up every day with one major goal on my mind: to make it home in time to see my daughter graduate high school. That goal pushes me forward even in this place. I am a 34-year-old father of three daughters, and my oldest is 15. My own father never saw me graduate, and he missed other important parts of my life, but I’ve learned to forgive, move on, and focus on the family I created.
I grew up in a small city called Seaford, Delaware. I was a shy kid who loved sports and was good at it. My mother, the queen of my universe, did everything she could to protect me from the negatives around us. She was a single parent raising two kids and working hard, and through all my years of trouble, she never gave up on me.
One of my best memories is visiting my great-grandmother in the 1990s. I went to her house every day, and she made me peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from that Smucker’s jar where the peanut butter and jelly came mixed together. I had good times with her until she passed.
This is my second time being incarcerated. The first time I did five years. I thought I had the tools to stay out, and I did for eight years, but I got comfortable and slipped back into old ways. Now I am serving another eight years.
Inside, I spend my days studying my religion and trying to mentor younger men, especially those here for the first time. I want them to understand there is more to life than this place. If I can help even one person see that, then I have accomplished something. I am my brother’s keeper, both in here and when I return to society.
