Week 5

Week in Review

Monday October 31, 2016

Today is October 31, more popularly known as Halloween. The conversation today was about everyone’s loved ones out there. People talked about past Halloween experiences with family and friends, and what they would do this year if they could be out there with them, as well as what their children would be dressing up as. People also spoke about their mothers and significant others passing out candy and their children going door to door trick-or-treating.

You can tell by looking into people’s eyes and hearing their voices that they regret the choices they made that led them here. While here though, we all have made a conscious choice and a commitment to ourselves and our loved ones to better our character and prepare ourselves for a positive future. So for now, the goal is to remain focused, busy, and hard at work on all of our assignments and classes. For some, Monday means computer lab, but for most of us it means Toastmasters. Some of us have both with computer lab in the morning followed by Toastmasters in the afternoon. Toastmasters is a communications course where you give speeches to gain certificates showing different levels of one’s public speaking ability. The objective of computer lab is to get us familiar with Microsoft Office programs. For some it is a matter of becoming reacquainted with the program; for others this is the first time they have been on a computer. The Servant-Leaders do a great job guiding everyone through the process of using the Microsoft Word program.

After a short break we then gathered together in the PEP room for Toastmasters. For many, today was their first day speaking which entails giving an Ice Breaker speech. This speech is one’s life story. Many of my brothers were very open with their testimonies today, leaving themselves vulnerable. All of their testimonies were very touching and inspirational. You really feel like you know a person once you have heard both the good and the bad from his past, and everything leading him all the way up to this point in his life. Sometimes someone will say something triggering a thought which makes you reflect on yourself and your own past. This program has been great at helping us develop compassion for one another. I look forward to rising every day and working on my character and sharpening my skills so that I will be able to be an asset to society once released, with people seeing how I once was and how I am now. I give all due credit to God and PEP!

Cameron G. (a.k.a. Sweet Nahla from the Lion King)

Tuesday November 1, 2016

Toastmasters ran the same as it usually does today. We are all working together as a team to accomplish a common goal: to communicate more clearly. After we prayed in we got started. I learned that I should speak on topics that I know about because then you make your speech more interesting. Also, if you know what you are speaking about your speech will flow smoothly. If for whatever reason you speak on a new topic, then doing a bit of research is recommended.

Our Toastmaster’s club is made up of the Toastmaster, Grammarian, “Ah” Master, Table Topic Master, Listening Master, Evaluators and a Timer. These different roles are switched weekly so that everyone get chance to experience all positions.

Today my friend Henry spoke about a day he had in Houston before he was incarcerated. He was comfortable and didn’t struggle at all. On the other hand I think I didn’t do so well, but listening to the other guys made me want to do better. They did really well. They also gave me good feedback. The feedback was really helpful and encouraging. The guys spoke on multiple topics ranging from what they have done in their time incarcerated to childhood stories. After the speeches we encouraged each other. We prayed out and then hung out for a few minutes. Then we were dismissed, looking forward to our next experience of gaining more knowledge.

Jason G. (a.k.a. Mr. Ed)

Wednesday November 2, 2016

Everyone is up waiting for computer class. The nervousness is apparent in everyone’s faces, because we aren’t just going to computer class to learn Microsoft Office. Oh no! Today we will be giving our “elevator business pitches” in front of the class. Time seems to stop as you speak, and everything you have been practicing is somehow lost as you feel yourself start sweating and your voice quivers. You try and control yourself, while at the same time asking yourself, “Is that what I sound like?”

Public speaking is one of the many fears that PEP is helping us to overcome. You wouldn’t think it, but I’ve seen it break the strongest of men. It’s an encouraging feeling to see the same man get up over and over and eventually master that fear and begin to excel. I know what he is thinking: it’s not just about us. We strive to be better men for our families.

Once we were done with the speeches we were right back to work. For some of us with computer skills it is an escape from this harsh reality that we have entrapped ourselves in. For others, it’s a daily struggle; something else for us to overcome, and we will succeed. There is no other option. Once computer class is over you feel a little relief and begin to relax, but that doesn’t last long. We have a test tomorrow over Chapter 4 of the Entrepreneurship book we have been studying for, and more than likely we will have a pop quiz over Chapter 5 as well – it’s about that time.

Jonathan G. (a.k.a. Sweet Rose Bud)

Thursday November 3, 2016

Today is Thursday, and like every other Thursday, it is test time! A few of my brothers and I woke up early to make sure we were ready before the test. We all were in our study group when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Gami J. came to the pod to get everyone at 10 a.m.  We had no idea what was going on. He rarely comes to get us that early. We asked ourselves, “Why do we need to go to the PEP room so early?” Some of us were studying for the normal test and for the pop quiz. Our imagination went wild. Who knew what was going on?

Once in the PEP room and we were able to catch our breath, we found out that our Peer Educator David F. and our brother Justin J. had made parole, so we had to do two pray outs before class. After the pray outs we were allowed to come back to the pod for another hour of preparation. After chow, Gami J. came and get everyone again, but this time we knew what time it was for: as soon as we prayed in, but before count, we got the test out of the way. This time we were lucky because we didn’t have a pop quiz.

After a little fun we sent Brian T. to the back of the room before he began with the entrepreneurship presentation. He talked about President Kennedy and his vision to put a man on the moon before the decade of the ‘60s was over. I believe we all realized that with a little bit of perseverance we can do a lot of good things in our lifetimes. After the second count of the afternoon Brian’s presentation was over, so we prayed out for the day. After we shook hands we headed back to the pods to get ready for Tuesday’s session.

Ernesto G. (a.k.a. Sweet Sloth from the Goonies)

Expressions

From growing up in a single parent home to looking in the streets for that lost void my father could not fill, I am grateful to say I am the man I am today. Through many trials and tribulations and various counts of failures I had always looked at my street-wise mentality as a means to meet friends and find success, with the hope of one day making it out of the neighborhood I grew up in. Boy was I wrong. Through unwise decisions of committing several acts of criminal activity, all I found in the streets was an endless road of struggles, pain and failures. After being convicted time after time on several felonies and sent to TDCJ, it was time for change.

It took this last charge I was convicted for, while still on parole, to tell myself that enough was enough. I got tired of giving my life away for something so ignorant that could’ve so easily been avoided by just simply keeping away from my destructive lifestyle. As I sat in the county jail awaiting my sentencing, I gave my life to Jesus Christ and told him I was sick and tired of losing and I was ready for a change. “Please Lord, manifest in me and show me how to be the man you need me to be.” Sure enough, after getting sentenced and being brought to TDCJ the Lord had a plan for me. A few months after my first year set-off I was on the brink of giving up and going back to my old ways, but through prayer and patience God taught me not to give up so easy.

It was all worth it as I got the golden ticket out of the Formby unit. I say from the bottom of my heart, being chosen to be a part of the best brotherhood ever created, known as PEP, is a blessing. I have now learned that the old me was just a front. Going through Phase One I learned a lot from Robert Lewis’s book Authentic Manhood. I am now a part of a fraternity of authentic men who live life by God’s standards. I also learned that my old character was full of evil and deceitfulness. Boy, I am glad for this change as time passed, and I am now in Phase Two. I’m amazed at all the entrepreneur knowledge I have gained. I can’t wait to walk the stage with the rest of Estes Extreme Winter ‘17 and show my family that the old me is truly dead and gone. Thank God and PEP. I’m looking forward to a Fresh Start upon release.

Jesus G. (a.k.a. Sweet Peanut Butter Cup)