Week 6

Week in Review

Monday November 6, 2017

Today our day in the PEP room started with a great Toastmasters class, where we got to enjoy a few of our brothers’ speeches. That is always enjoyable because we get to know a little more about our brothers’ lives … but our day did not stop there! We had the great pleasure of receiving a great friend and supporter, Keith B., in our PEP class. He brought us a few pictures and videos of his business trip to Ireland. It is always a good feeling when someone comes and spends their free time with us, especially sharing personal experiences. Keith B. is somebody that has had a great impact on our PEP family. He gives us the desire to persevere in our life, no matter the adversity we may face. Our day ended with a visit by Michelle G. and Cindy V., who also brought two other volunteers with them. They came to help us learn how to manage our businesses. We had so much fun, even though they were teaching us things that, to some of us, is out of this world. They make it so interesting and simple. The stuff they are teaching us is very solid information that is going to help us in our new chapter of life as businessmen. It will also help us with managing our households in many ways. They are helping us understand a world that is of great importance if we want to be prosperous. Our life in PEP is like a box of chocolates, because you never know what you are going to get, but you know it is going to be good.

Oscar G. (a.k.a. “Ball of Masa”)

Tuesday November 7, 2017

This morning were called to the PEP room at 7 a.m. We had two guest speakers come talk to us: Steven H. and Dr. B. Dr. B is a psychologist who gave us a lecture on how to change our negative behaviors. He went into great detail on how we unconsciously pick up these negative behaviors. These events oftentimes occurred to us at a very young age and were unaware of the impact it would have on us later on in life. He then went in depth about how to change these behaviors – basically, he said that we have to decide to do so in a high-end state of emotion. During his lecture, he demonstrated these techniques by calling up one of our PEP brothers who has a history of violent outbursts. This behavior is what led him to his incarceration. He then walked him through the process of changing those negative thought patterns that led him to commit acts of violence, by replacing them with a positive way of dealing with things. It was a very positive and insightful experience, and I feel that it would be beneficial for future classes to take part in Dr. B’s lecture.

Then we had our regular Tuesday class of Living in the Village which is always informative. We ended the day with the Project Management workshop with Cindy and Michele. The class divided into two groups, and each group participated in a mock project that was a lot of fun. All in all, it was a good day.

Sean H.  (a.k.a. “Zebra Cake”)

Wednesday November 8, 2017

Today started out with some of the PEP brothers getting up to go to breakfast, but a lot of us woke up to study. The rest of our brothers woke up at 6 a.m. to get ready for class. At 7 a.m. we arrived for our computer class. We all had work assignments to do: typing out the opportunity that we are presenting for our business plans and the solution we will provide yielding that business opportunity. Once we finished with that assignment we started working on our second assignment, which was studying our Economics of One Unit (EOUs). We worked on that for a couple of hours, and then from there we came back to our pods and studied some more.

Then at 6 p.m. we all turned out to the PEP room for our Project Management class, taught by Mrs. Michelle G. and Cindy V. The class was very exciting and informative, and we all had a good time and learned a lot, especially on how to manage our businesses. The class lasted two hours, and once we finished we headed back to our dorms. When we got back, some took showers, some went back to studying and still others went to sleep because it had been a long day. All in all it was a great day. We all had a good time, and at the same time we all learned something new. I am very grateful to the PEP program for the things they are teaching us and for the things they do for us. This is a wonderful program that teaches us tools we can use to be successful, not only externally but internally as well, and I am very happy to be a part of it all. I would like to thank everyone: my brothers, the PEP staff and all the executive volunteers.  

Miguel H. (a.k.a. “Crazy Eyes”)

Thursday November 9, 2017

Today we started class at 8:30 a.m. with our traditional to pray-in. After the pray-in we showed some love by shaking our brothers’ hands and saying hello and then took a test on Chapter 11 of our entrepreneurship book. The test was a little hard, but I still passed. After the test we went back to our dorm. They called us out again in the afternoon to watch one of the weirdest videos I have ever seen in my life. It was a video on historical art that was about how art paintings impacted society at the time. We watched two videos, and we returned to our dorms.

Finally in the evening, we had Michele fill in for Bert S. to go over Chapter 12 in our entrepreneurship book. She did a marvelous job and gave an excellent speech and presentation.  It was great having her here; after that we prayed out and went back to our dorms and that was the end of the day.

Sterlin G. (a.k.a. “Prince”)

Expressions

“A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.”

~ Mahatma Gandhi

I chose this quote because it is a simple statement, yet profound. How many of us have gone numb to the significance and power of thoughts? How many of us are neglecting our passions and purposes because we have cast aside our thoughts? Instead, we tend to replace them with thoughts of either complacency or pessimism.

How many of us are robbed by thinking this way?  How does this type of thinking really impact us all? Every day we have thousands upon thousands of thoughts nudging us through life. This is so common that I believe most of us come to a point where these thoughts are taken for granted. This is something we just do – it doesn’t take much effort or thought. Looking around, I begin to think of everything available to us now because of someone else’s thoughts before. Some of these things are magnificent and wondrous, coming from thoughts inspired by love, peace, happiness and freedom. Some other things are alarming and disheartening, and come from thoughts that are provoked by destruction, desolation, malice and strife. All this is from the thoughts of men and women who have come, gone and are.

This quote reminds me that every day, we make decisions that may seem mundane, but the truth is those thoughts can produce decisions will impact and change our lives and the lives of those around us – even lives of people we may never know. I can remember when the product of my thoughts led me to become involved in “the street life” and even experience death on several occasions, all from being in bondage to hopelessness. I know how blessed I am now to be able to write these words and express these thoughts. The thoughts of my youth provoked me toward chaos, for both others and myself. I have learned from my experiences and hardships, and I don’t want to ever be that person again. Through this incarceration I have learned about the significance and power of my thoughts. They have inspired me to discover my passion for education, discover my purpose of helping others and believe in myself. My thoughts guide me to be proactive and optimistic so that those outcomes have a positive impact.

Andres H. (a.k.a. “Mr. Pistachio”)