-Karii, San Francisco
I think something I had to learn the hard way is that actions have consequences. This is definitely not my first time here.
I wouldn’t say I am a frequent flyer, but I have been locked up a few times and unfortunately my circumstances led me to make decisions that got me here. I used to pity myself when I was younger and point fingers at everybody but myself.
Now that I am older, I look at things differently. Even though this system is messed up and being a city kid really does set you up for failure, at the end of the day you create the path that you go down. We are all different and come from different walks of life, yet we all ended up in the same place. We all got sucked into this impossible loop and now it’s up to us to make a new path to go down.
It took me to be here for the fifth time and be committed to realize this. It took me to have to spend my eighteenth birthday in here to realize that this is not where I want to be. I had to outgrow this system to get out, but I know better now.
I can make sure to make something good of myself and stay out as an adult.