Week 10

Week in Review

Monday  March 5, 2018

Today was an awesome day in our public speaking program called Toastmasters. The class is coming together more and more. Most of us are on our third speech, and a few of us are still on speech number two. Everyone is busy preparing for their speeches so they can be as good as possible. Listening to the value of the speeches gets us all involved with what is going on. Overall, we are coming together as a class. I am very impressed.

In addition, a lot of us continue to grow as a brotherhood outside of class time. Some of us are in Health & Wellness, which is our physical education class, while others are in either Bible classes or self-help classes. Whatever the case may be, we become closer as brothers, which is what the PEP revolution is all about.

It seems like our class is getting smaller and smaller, but not because our PEP brothers have gotten in trouble. On the contrary, our classmates are rejoining society with their “Fresh Start Outlook” attitude, and we miss them dearly. However, it won’t be long before we all reunite as the Soldiers of Spring ’18 in the free world.

John L. (a.k.a. Pooh Bear)

Tuesday March 6, 2018

Today in PEP, the lesson was over how to build a resume. The information provided to us was very helpful about how to write your resume properly. A resume is important because it allows your employer to see the type of skills you’ve acquired. For those who have never made one, it was exciting trying to describe our past work experience. Meanwhile, for those of us who have made a resume before, it reminded us of the little things to look for when reviewing a resume.

Other than our lesson on resumes, we had the rest of the day off. However, many of us need to study for our weekly test in Bert S.’s entrepreneurship class tomorrow. If you look around in the dayrooms, you’ll see that pretty much every table is filled with fellow brothers going over flash cards and writing out their business plans.

What is amazing is that PEP provides us with an atmosphere conducive to change. Many of us came from pretty bad environments prior to PEP, which doesn’t help if you’re trying to become a better person. Coming to PEP has definitely been a tremendous blessing, and we all treat it as such.

Mark I. (a.k.a. Wolverine)

Wednesday March 7, 2018

Today was an awesome day! Everybody looks forward to Wednesdays, because we get wonderful chicken leg quarters for lunch, followed by our amazing weekly tests in class! We had a blast in Bert S.’s class today. We really got down to the science behind the finances of business. This subject is very broad, but I think we are grasping the concepts very well. Next week is our Etiquette event, which sounds fun and exciting. We can’t wait!

Supposedly we’re having a guest speaker come to teach us all about proper etiquette in various settings. Everybody is completely ecstatic to use a fork and knife again. For those of us who have been incarcerated for several years, the whole experience will feel like riding a bike for the first time.

In conclusion, the day was extremely eventful and productive. There are only a couple of weeks left before the class of Fall ’18 starts – and then it will be time for the Soldiers of Spring ’18 to become servant leaders.

Harvey W. (a.k.a. Tinker Bell)

Thursday March 8, 2018

Today the Soldiers of Spring ’18 went to the PEP computer lab to learn how to use Microsoft Office. We are being taught a crucial skill that is a must in today’s workforce. We are learning PowerPoint, Word, Excel and other important computer skills.

Many people in prison have never even used a computer, so we are very grateful to have this opportunity, and it will be extra beneficial when we start our businesses. We also had an opportunity to do some market research and gather information for our business plans. We have access to the PEP library, which is an imperative source for information in many different areas of business and life. Thank you PEP for all these opportunities you have given us, now and in the future.

We will honor your support by becoming true servant leaders. We will pay the kindness forward to the classes to come. But most of all, we will get out and become better fathers, sons, husbands and better men in general. God has given us blessings and gifts, but our gift to God is to use them for His glory.

Eric J. (a.k.a. Secret Sauce)

Friday March 9, 2018

Today we went to our Living in the Village class and learned about the different levels of credit. We were given papers to send out to different companies so that we would get back the information on where our credit score stands as of today. We also did our first character assessment to determine how our classmates view each other’s characteristics and how we are doing in the program.

We also welcomed all of the new participants in the class of Fall ’18 that just arrived on the Unit. In addition, we tested on chapters 4 and 5 in Living in the Village to determine if we retained the information or not – thankfully, we did. Great job, Soldiers of Spring ’18!

In conclusion, we’re absolutely relieved to have the weekend off. Another week down and one step closer to graduation. It’s a beautiful day outside, so some of us might finish it off with a wonderful trip to the recreation yard.

James J. (a.k.a. Brother Man)

Expressions

“It’s a shame that you have to tell a child not to be afraid of the dark, but you have to tell a grown man not to be afraid of the light.”

~Unknown

There’s so much truth to this wonderful quote, especially for people who have spent their whole lives living in the dark. When we were kids, our parents had to constantly tuck us into bed and check the closet to make sure the boogey man wasn’t lurking about. However, when we grow up and start living a life full of poor choices that keep us in the dark, we spend so much time in the dark that we’re completely terrified of the light. As humans, we adjust to our surroundings and we become what we repeatedly do. When it comes to changing our lives, we’re afraid of what people will think when we start to do the right thing. Some people think it’s weak when you speak correctly, and you’re soft if you don’t act tough. Society would rather me glorify a life of sin, than to talk about love and kindness. Don’t let people who gave up on their dreams talk you out of yours!

Michael G. (a.k.a. Baby Simba)