At this stage of my life, the achievement of earning my associate degree has rejuvenated my hopes for a greater quality of life. It has reminded me that I am worthy of believing in myself and can achieve anything—I am capable of having a presence larger than I ever believed before. By participating in a program like MTC that allows me to further my education, I am continuing to strive for freedom from self-degradation.

When I reflect back on the guilt and hopelessness that I felt about being imprisoned, I’m also reminded of how I was not able to find a reason to believe that my life was going to be alright. With a life sentence hanging over my head, what was there to believe in… forever behind bars? When I began college classes, I did so to take advantage of the opportunity to move around outside of my cell, knowing that I would benefit from staying busy and occupying my mind with anything other than emotional trauma. As the time passed and I began to complete classes, I started to believe that there was real value in achieving my degree. Working toward this goal made me feel good about myself, and my quality of life and my disposition changed. 

My will to continue learning brought about changes that have led to action, honesty, and openness towards anything I look forward to doing.

To earn this degree, I had to put aside any insecurities I had about learning and apply myself toward achieving the goal that I had abandoned in the past, over and over again. I committed myself to being open-minded, asking for help when needed, and showing up to receive the guidance of the process.

As I look to the future, there’s a possibility that I may continue on and strive for a bachelor’s degree in Behavioral and Social Sciences and eventually become a counselor.