I apologize for disappearing on you. I got a new job and
over that my other full time job of being a mom. I finally have my time more
organized now, so here I am to reconnect with you all. I am working for the
public defender’s office now and I totally love my new job. It has given me a
different perspective on life. I see the world from both sides now. I previously
worked as a victim’s advocate before I moved to a new state. The advocate in me
lives on as I see the other side of the table. No one is born bad, it is simply
the consequences in life that sometimes steers them in the wrong direction.
In my own life I have seen the worst of people do best of deeds.
One often wonders: what makes people do
what they do? That is a million dollar question. If only we can understand each
individuals mind. After a bit of research, I have come to realize that a lot of
these men in prison were once an innocent child. Be it for popularity or
financial situations, they chose the wrong exit off the freeway of good. A child is born so innocent, so ready to
explore this world, the very same world we know to leave us fearful at times. The
first few years they see the world through the eyes of their parents. As they
grow a little older and make friends, they begin learning lessons for
themselves. Not everyone is blessed with
a stable home, loving families, or role models that can hold their hand and
show them right from wrong.
“The only time you should
look down at someone, is when you are helping them up.” Jesse
Jackson
In my line of work as a children’s advocate, I have met many
children that were neglected and abused. Now, if these children cannot be placed
in a safe and loving environment…where do you see them heading in their future?
It is easy to sit at home and judge these kids that later enter a crime filled
life. While we tuck our kids in bed and kiss their foreheads goodnight, there
is a child out there with no food, no warm bed and one who gets beat before
crying themselves to sleep. Yes, we live in a world with all this. Not all
children who are abused or neglected choose the negative path, but a high
number do. They are so tired and frustrated with their lives being so difficult.
They start to hate everything and everyone around them. They build a wall
around the innocent child that lives deep inside them. After all, when you have
only received pain from those closest to you, how can you expect anyone else to
be any different?
These people can be helped but with love and care. You can
touch a life; give a safe home to a child. Give this child that loving family that
they crave. What you do for a child today will shape their future to give them
a better tomorrow. What you do for them today, they will do for another
tomorrow. I can go on and on about this subject but I will end my thought by
saying “Pay it forward.”
“If you can’t feed a hundred
people, then just feed one.” Mother Teresa