Week 20
Week in Review
Monday August 21, 2017
We started the day with the thought that the finish line is in sight. The past eight months have been grueling, and we know that the fruits of our labor have begun to form. We started the day by arriving at the PEP classroom early morning as we continue to work on our Coats of Arms. The Coat of Arms starts out with a printout of a superhero. Every participant gets to choose which superhero he likes. We color the superhero, and it is here that everyone’s individual styles and creativity are displayed. After we finish coloring the super hero, we place a picture of our own face on top of the superhero’s face, thus making us the superheroes. I think that the Coat of Arms serves as a reminder to us and our families that everything we have been through over the months, especially the trials that we’ve been through in PEP, has led us toward our transformation into righteousness. The Coats of Arms will be given to our family members at graduation.
We are also working on our teddy bear t-shirts. These t-shirts will be worn by teddy bears that we will be able to give to our kids at graduation. Everybody is working hard on their t-shirts, and once again everyone’s creative side is on display. We know that the children will be pleased to receive a personalized teddy bear.
The last event, the Business Plan Competition (BPC), is near. We are fine tuning and memorizing our pitches as we prepare for the competition and graduation. The finish line is near – we can see it, and while we have not crossed it yet, we know that we will soon.
Vincent H. (a.k.a. Sweet-N-Low)
Tuesday August 22, 2017
Our day began at about 7 a.m. when the new class (we call it Phase I) and the class facilitators were called out to the PEP classroom. We watched a Robert Lewis video on character development and then split up into small groups to discuss what the video meant to us.
Brandon C. and I gave the men in Phase I two presentations which were mainly focused on returning to society and what specific plans they need to make for a successful re-entry. We talked about how long they should wait to start dating, how they should approach dating and relationships, and how much money they will have to save to get a small apartment in Dallas.
One of the things we stress in PEP is self-discipline. During any presentation, the participants are supposed to sit upright and remain quiet. To help the Phase I participants develop as professionals, we keep watch and sometimes have to remind them of that aspect of the program. To reinforce that element of our culture, two of the peer educators had to give an impromptu presentation which was more like a warning so everyone would understand they must respect the speakers and the class as a whole.
After we ate lunch, the Phase Two participants were called out to the PEP room. Several of the guys gave their pitches for their businesses as a practice session for the actual Business Plan Competition in September.
After giving a pitch, the participants are encouraged to ask questions and provide feedback. We try to provide positive comments to help each man improve his pitch. Jesse B. Jr. strongly encouraged us to practice our pitches more so we did not sound like we were improvising the pitch at the competition.
To end the Phase Two class session, we all enjoyed watching a video on French artwork and classical paintings. We watch videos like this to become familiar with other parts of formal education that are not business-oriented. We ended the class by saying a prayer and then returning to our cells.
Jason J. (a.k.a. David Hasselhoff)
Wednesday August 23, 2017
Today some PEP brothers have been up since 5 a.m. to read the Bible or study and read Crime and Punishment. At 7:30 a.m. we went to PEP (or some take another class in the mornings) and the computer lab to work. We only have 23 days to graduation, and all of us have seen a change in our lives – including holding ourselves and others accountable – to make it this far. God is good. I practiced my pitch to my cellmate after lunch, and I ended up speaking for 10 minutes … this is something I will need to work on before September 13th. Afterwards many of us met up in the dayroom, where we broke off into different groups to discuss class, life, tests, who got homework, and how PEP has really helped us to see a true fresh start. We talked about the book Crime and Punishment and how it is different. The book has 700 pages and 180 vocabulary words to memorize, and it is hard to read, but we are pushing through it.
We wrapped up our day by breaking up into two groups – each group has a pod coach, accountability leader, and Phase One participants – to practice our pitches again. In my group we had Timothy, Gerald, Rodrick, and Nimmo. We all made our time and did a good job. This is what we do on L-pod: working together all day in our own special way. Also, we had a birthday, so we circled up, with gifts and a birthday card, to sing Happy Birthday the way Joshua wanted it. It’s a joy when we work together!
Jeremy J. (a.k.a. Chocolate Bun)
Thursday August 24, 2017
Today those of us who are “Pristine facilitators” for the new Phase One guys started off early in the PEP room at 7 a.m. sharp. We listened to some testimonies, presentations over our PEP Driving Value “Fun” and taught the new guys to do the chicken dance. We finished up with the Phase One around 11:30 a.m. About 12:30 p.m. we returned to the PEP room for our Phase Two class. After the pray in we sang Happy Birthday to our brother, Gerald H.
We had an assignment due today the “consequence trail,” where we invent two hypothetical scenarios of what could occur after we are released that might result in us either coming back to prison or remaining free. During class we broke up into small groups and did some role playing. We all chose different scenarios, but my group chose a scene for the class where I am drinking and driving, and my passengers are using drugs. At the end of our role play, we pretended to have a fight where we were seriously injured. We made it hilarious to watch, but in reality, the scene could easily be an actual event. It was an exercise to help us see how quickly our bad decisions can have devastating consequences.
Here in PEP we all have a common goal: to stay free. We also went over a positive role play and the effects of those right actions to shed light on how important it is to make good choices. We can all relate to the scenarios that played out today and learn from them. Our time here in Phase Two is over in just three more weeks, and we are all looking forward to graduation.
Christopher K. (a.k.a. Olive Oil)
Expressions
The whole world is my country, all of mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.
– Thomas Paine
In today’s world, these words are still powerful even though they were written over 200 years ago. Perhaps this is because too few people have ever truly related to words such as these.
This is, by far, my favorite quote. What it says to me is, first of all, I am more than just an American. Therefore I care about more than just America. The whole world is my country. Maybe as Americans we should love the whole world and have just as much concern for all those living on our planet as we do for those of us living in America.
Because all of mankind is my brethren, you don’t have to be my mirror image to be my brother. Neither the color of your skin nor the country of your origin makes you my brethren. How you choose to worship and whom you choose to worship is not what defines you as my brethren either. You need only to be human – that is what defines you as my brethren. You don’t have to go to the same place of worship, and you don’t have to dress like me or talk like me. The only thing you have to have is a heartbeat like me. Once all the extra descriptive terms are removed, we are all human … we are all people … we are all brethren.
Finally, to do good is my religion. To do something religiously means to be very devoted to something. By the same token, I have made it my goal to do good religiously each day, day in and day out.
I have not always shared this same view. However, once I identified the whole world as my country, it was easier to see that all of mankind is my brethren. And as a general rule of thumb, to do good has become my religion.
James L. (a.k.a Barbie Girl)