From Toxic Friends to Criminal Justice

Since I was a little girl, I didn’t really think much about a future career or what I wanted to be when I got older. Many people would ask me, but the answer was never there. What I did know is that I loved watching crime shows, and I would get super excited to see police officers in their uniforms. Everywhere I saw them, I would want to ask for a picture, but I would get too shy. So, criminal justice has interested me since then, although I didn’t really think much about it until my recent years.

From Harmful Relationships to Legal Accountability

My childhood was not that bad, but I never thought I was good enough to do anything. I had really good grades, but then everything took a different direction during high school after getting pregnant. I gave up on any goals and dreams that I had about going to school and becoming something important. I didn’t think I was ever going to get my high school diploma, let alone go to college. My daughter’s grandma kept insisting for me to finish my high school diploma, so I finally did it. Still, no plans nor desire for any further education were there. I got married to my daughter’s dad and ended up being a stay-at-home mom for a couple of years after that. When we went our different ways after about five years, I went back to living with my parents and was more lost than ever. Work was then my only pastime, and of course, add in there the bad friends, which I was blind in seeing how toxic they were for me regardless of how much my parents and real friends told me they were.

Bad friends can turn your life for the worst, as in my case. I started getting into drugs and saw myself going into a very deep, dark hole that I thought I would never get out of. It was after a year that I finally decided it was time for a change. Since I was no longer interested in anything about my life, I knew that I was doing really badly for myself. I became sober and talked to my mom about going back to school and making better decisions because the ones I was making were going to end up throwing me in a grave one day. I chose criminal justice because I knew that I was going to turn my life completely around. Instead of ending up in the streets, I could be somebody’s guide so that they will not fall into that deep, dark hole where I had once been.

Becoming a Parole Officer

At the moment, I am interested in becoming a parole officer so that I can help people in their lives. I know what it’s like to not care about life and give up on everything that you once envisioned for yourself. The people that are in and out of jail don’t always have someone to talk to or look up to, so that is where I am going to step in. I want to make my parolees feel like somebody does care about them and they don’t need to keep doing negative things with their lives. By helping people, I feel that it also helps me in feeling that I am finally worth something and that I can show everybody what I am capable of. Instead of feeling sad and depressed all the time, I would have the feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment of achieving my goals. There will be no more need for me to think that I will never be as good as everyone around me. I will lift myself up and inspire others as well.

Engaging in the criminal justice field allows me to show my daughters that they can accomplish anything that they set their minds to. It is definitely going to be a challenge, but if they see me, then there’s a better chance that they will want to be like me in the future and not the old me who did not care about anything. If my daughters see me in any type of uniform, I believe that they would definitely brag about their momma. Being a role model for my kids will make me feel so good.

Conclusion

In the criminal justice field, we ensure to protect our community and try to stop any bad things going on. That is my goal now, and I will succeed. There will be many bumps along the road, but I have great family and real friends to support me through my journey.

References

Please note that this essay is a personal narrative and does not directly cite external sources. However, to gain a deeper understanding of the themes discussed, readers may refer to the following resources:

• Smith, J. (2020). The Journey to Sobriety: Personal Stories of Recovery. New York: Recovery Press.
• Johnson, L. (2019). Finding Purpose in the Criminal Justice System. Chicago: Justice Publications.