by Chase
To me, being the best I can means showing I’ve been in really difficult situations. Anyone can say they would do this or that in a difficult situation, but it’s another thing to follow through with it and have your actions match your words.
No matter how hard it gets when I was younger I would always have these beliefs about the world and who I was, but a lot of times I never had to put those beliefs to the test. And when I did, I had a different outlook on the situation, myself, and others that were in similar situations. To be the best I can be. I have to know what that looks like.
I have to have a goal or objective, then I have to fully commit to meeting that goal. I have to really want it and not let myself get discouraged or distracted. I have to be aware of myself and act authentically, and who I truly am. One of the biggest examples of me, being the best, I can possibly be is programming and staying positive in prison. I sure have a lot of reasons to feel sorry for myself, blame others, use drugs, be lazy and selfish, and not follow through with things that would actually be the norm or if not, at least expected of me.
But instead, I wake up every day and decide to try to better myself. I sometimes fall short of that goal, but I do my best to live up to my values and beliefs, and I no longer try to live up to others. I don’t have to profess to be a hard worker, I just show up to work and work hard. I don’t have to say my word is everything, I just keep it. I don’t have to tell people I have changed because I live my change.
I don’t do this for recognition or a parole date. I do it because it is me. That is what being my best self means to me, and I know that we are all capable of living out our best selves not just professing it. We are all capable of greatness, and I hope to be that example one day maybe to someone.