Week 19
Week in Review
Monday August 20, 2018
Here we are, 17 days away, and still we are counting down till the day we all cross that stage to graduate after completing our nine-month course in entrepreneurship we all signed up for. As we think about seeing our family, friends and loved ones after so many years of being locked up – or just realizing we are blessed to accomplish a skill that family and loved ones could be happy about – a lot of us have noticed certain types of bonds we have built, bonds that this Prison Entrepreneurship Program both support and stand on. Each of us all knows that upon release, we will all go our separate ways and may not see each other for a while, but the truth is regardless wherever our destination is and the path we decide to take, our bond will still be through PEP.
As we prepare for our final Business Plan Competition event, we are constantly making final changes, tweaking our pitches over and over in our pods to get ours memorized. This will help us relax when the day comes when we have to compete and present our business pitch. Right now, most of us has taken servant-leader roles to help prepare the next class for the same long road. Every day is a journey for us and even though we all look and think differently about what may lie ahead, we all know we have that one thing in common: graduation for our “Legacy” Class of Summer ‘18. We have made it to the finish line; now it’s time for us to help others succeed.
Kevin G. (a.k.a. “Biscuits and Gravy”)
Tuesday August 21, 2018
Today in class we helped Phase One’s class this morning. Kelsey M. and I emceed their class, along with a few other Legacy ’18 brothers, including Keith B. and Scott H. who spoke about marriage and a husband’s role. Being there in the morning is always exciting, because it is amazing to watch these brothers transform into something new: a better man. The energy and the atmosphere in the class is always on a fun and exciting level. Watching these new PEP brothers learn and acknowledge flaws in their past is such a great reward.
As the morning came to an end, we prayed out – our tradition in PEP. After that, we all went to lunch to enjoy Frito pie. Then in the afternoon we came back to class, except this time it was our Legacy ’18 that turned out. We had a blast practicing our graduation walk. It was funny seeing some of our brothers getting it wrong after it was explained and shown to us several times. It was especially funny as we walked down the aisle to go to our seats. We looked like models walking down the runway during a beauty pageant as we perfected our walk and cheered for our brothers. After we practiced our walk, we let loose for a while and danced for a bit. Then we got serious and listened to some of the brothers give their business pitches, trying to get them perfected for the Business Plan Competition. After that, we watched U.S. History for a little while before we prayed out and went back to our pods.
Jimmie H. (a.k.a. “Snap-a-Lot”)
Wednesday August 22, 2018
Today we were invited to our first Servant-Leader meeting. It was pretty cool because reality started to set in about graduation – going to a Servant-Leader meeting is a sign that graduation is right around the corner. Also, we went over what it means to be a Servant-Leader in here as well as life in general. We all have been contemplating how we are going to implement being a servant leader to our loved ones. Our “skills for life” says it best: “Servant-leaders never pursue a mission at the expense of their people. Rather, Servant-Leaders earn the loyalty and best efforts of their people by serving their interests and investing in the development of those they lead.” Knowing that one day we will all get released from here, having a Servant-Leader mentality is something that we are eager to implement into our everyday lives as free men.
Shortly after the Servant-Leader meeting, we had a “job fair” for PEP jobs as post graduates during our incarceration so that we can apply for a job that fits our skills and personalities best. PEP is a God-send to all of us here. We all benefit tremendously in many ways. The job fair served as a medium for us to sharpen our skills as we interviewed for the jobs we applied for. Every day is a wonderful learning experience for all of us at PEP. A lot of us in the class of Legacy ‘18 are about to go home, so we have a chance to implement our skills we have acquired going through this program.
Royce H. (a.k.a. “Oprah Winfrey”)
Thursday August 23, 2018
Today all of our PEP brothers congregated together in the PEP classroom with laughter. We all were excited, simply because in just over two weeks we will be graduating. As we fellowshipped together, our conversations were cut short. We always honor and respect the principle of praying before class begins. Therefore we all stood-up, bowed our heads, prayed, and one of our classmates read a passage from a daily devotion book. Soon after that, we all went back to greeting each other for a couple of minutes.
All of a sudden, we were informed that today we would be practicing our graduation walk. Our class was filled with joy. PEP has 10 principles we live by, called the 10 Driving Values: Love, Integrity, Fun, Excellence, Execution, Innovation, Servant-Leader Mentality, Accountability, “Fresh Start” Outlook, and Wise Stewardship. Everyone is now living out the 10 Driving Values together in unity. Facilitators were demonstrating how to march appropriately while displaying a Servant-Leader mentality. One of our 10 Driving Values is Fun, defined as “Work is an important part of life and it should be fun and rewarding.” We practiced over and over until we were flawless. We were exhausted, but we were also happy that we accomplished something wonderful together as a team.
Praise reports are reports about someone who is displaying one of our 10 Driving Values while they are not in the classroom. Awards were given to several of our classmates for these outstanding achievements. Later we practiced our pitches for the Business Plan Competition, but we also watched American History. We were completely amazed to learn all the unique, important and sustainable facts concerning the history of America. Finally we stood-up, bowed our heads, prayed and left the classroom filled with joy, knowledge and the spirit of fulfillment.
James H. (a.k.a. “Blow Pop”)
Expressions
When I think of inspirational quotes, there are a lot that come to mind. The one that I have been thinking about lately is by Warren Buffet: “Someone is enjoying shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” Buffet was saying that to enjoy some things in the future, we must act and set things in motion today. There are many ways we can apply this quote, but the main things that I am applying this quote to are my health and fitness. We all want to be healthy and strong, but many of us fail to do anything about it. If you are not eating right and exercising, you are not going to be healthy. You have to plant that tree and cultivate it so that you can enjoy its shade.
Another good application of this quote can be with your finances. Again, we all want to be well off and not have to worry about money issues. But most of us will not just wake up one morning and have all of our money issues worked out for us. We have to start saving and investing now so that our money can grow and we can enjoy it in the future. The shade from that tree did not just appear overnight. Someone had a vision, a want or a desire for shade and decided to make it a reality. This is something that we all can do. We can all dream big and have a goal. Even the biggest goals are attainable. Decide what it is that you want, set small attainable goals that will lead you toward your main goal and stick to the plan. Plant that tree today so that you can enjoy its shade in the future.
William H. (a.k.a. “Keebler Elf”)