PRISONER EXPRESS

I hope each and every one of you are well and in the best of spirits. I also hope all of you are accomplishing all you set your minds to.

My name is Michael. I am very thankful to be alive today and to have the opportunity and ability to write you all. I'm even more thankful for each of your lives, which is why I have taken this time to share some things with you.

First, let me share some personal facts with you all before I go on. I am thirty-five years old. I was born in San Diego, California. Presently my mother lives in Savannah, Georgia. I'm not sure where my father lives exactly, but he still resides in California somewhere. I have one younger brother and two wonderful nephews. The rest of my family is scattered throughout this nation and other parts of the world.

Presently, I am serving a twenty-two year prison sentence for aggravated robbery. Actually, I was convicted of five counts, all of which were to run concurrently. I am a former gang member and confirmed security threat. I've been placed in administrative segregation. Although state officials and this unit's staff know that I no longer participate in any gang activity, I must remain in this confined cell until my name comes up on a waiting list for the G.R.A.D. program. This program will legally clear my name from all past gang associations and allow me to go back to general population where I can participate in educational functions and utilize the positive resources that this prison system does offer. Being in a gang carried a heavy price in many areas I never expected. So did all the wrongs I committed throughout my past life.

Before I go on, I would like to apologize to each and every one of you out there. I realize that I am just a stranger and a convicted felon to you all, but I am truly sorry for all I've done. I owe all you this apology individually and on a national level. No excuse is good enough to justify many of my past choices. As I proceed to discuss the subject of choices, I hope you all will forgive me.

I want each and every one of you to always remember that you have the power of choice. No matter what anyone says about you or what others may do, you have the final say so of which direction you will take with any issue or circumstance.

Not only are you all responsible for following school rules, national or state laws, but you are responsible for you. Just as a person must take care of his or her car and keep up its maintenance for a longer and better performance, so must we do the same with ourselves. If we don't, we will fall apart or end up in a wreck. There is a cause for every effect. You all have probably learned about this in your science or biology classes. It is a very important law to remember.

I hope all of you realize how wonderful it is to be alive. Can any of you imagine not being alive? Each of you are a precious gift to this world. We each individually possess minds with incredible capacities and capabilities within them. From ancient history to today's modern times, the evidences are there to prove it.

There is so much to learn in this life that one could never know it all. But the key is to have an open mind as you receive or approach issues, subjects, or circumstances. The more you have an open mind, the more you all will appreciate this life and the treasures within it.

All of you will have your owns interests and views in life. Some of you may agree on issues and some will disagree. With so much history on civilizations, religions, cultures, and everything else, it's hard to keep up. All you can do is educate yourself on the world around you the best way possible. Unless you've done some personal research on issues and asked enough questions, one really can't speak out against another. Sometimes we waste more energy by trying to be better than the next person, rather than being the best person we possibly can be to everyone else around us. So don't cheat yourselves or those around you.

I would like to encourage all of you to challenge yourselves. Whether you want to be a professional sports athlete, a musician, an artist, a scientist, a politician, or whatever it may be in this life, give your very best at all you do, and add your own special uniqueness to it all.

To you young men out there, set the example for your younger peers and be a light for them. Treat the young ladies as you would honor and treat your own mother or sister. Open the doors for them and be polite always. Always remember that the younger crowds watch you. Your choices not only affect your futures, but it also affects those who look at you.

All you young ladies strive and be the very best you can be. Never be ashamed to walk away from any situation you know it wrong. Be big sisters to the younger girls that always seemed to be ignored or never invited to certain events. Set the example for the younger girls coming up behind you.

I know my words may seem common and goody-too-sh66, but I was 64gr once myself. I know all the slang and all the fads and fashions. I know what its like to feel alone or even the enter of attention. I played sports, played guitar and other instruments, and hung out just like any of you. I've had to deal with bul35es and arrogant attitudes 6o. I experienced quite a lot, but I put myself through a lot of unnecessary changes as well. Instead of just being myself and finding my place, I tried to be what others were and eventually lost my place. Believe me, it's easy to do. We all go through things, but it's how we manage our lives through it all that counts.

Last, but not least, for anyone who is part of a gang or anyone who is thinking of joining a gang, I have but one warning and a simply suggestion.

My warning is from experience. I could tell you story after story of all the drama that goes on in the street and in the penitentiary, but I'm sure you all have heard most of it before from someone else or on television somewhere, which only clarifies one thing. It's the same cycle and the same old story.

I was arrested in Houston, Texas, on January 29, 2000, for a string of armed robberies. Before this, I served time for drug possession and other robberies. I've run the streets of Los Angeles, California, as well as Albuquerque, New Mexico. I ran the streets in El Paso, Texas, and was in and out of trouble in Brazoria County, Texas, as well. I've experienced gang wars on the streets and my share of prison riots. I'm well aware of the club scenes and the drug world. None of it was worth the pain I've caused my family and friends, especially my mother and younger brother. And none of it is anything to be proud of. Through it all, I never had peace. And no matter how hard you may think you are, you're never too hard to know the truth deep inside. You can fool the people around you, but you can't fool yourself. You can run from the truth, or drown it in alcohol and drugs, but it's always still there. Just look at history and pay close attention to the media. Every gangster in history has either been killed, locked up in prison, or had to deal with legal and personal problems throughout their lives. Do you really think your life is worth that risk? All my closest friends from the street are either dead, serving life sentences, or suffering from injuries or drug addictions. Children don't have their fathers and families are left broken. There's nothing cool about that.

Instead of being out there contributing something meaningful to this world and enjoying a life with an exciting career, I am paying a debt to society for living a reckless and selfish life. Although I am in prison, physically, my true prison is the guilt and shame for all I've done, and the heartache I've brought on my mother who sacrificed her whole life to give me what she didn't have when she was a kid. There is just too much opportunity in this world and in this great nation not to succeed and find success. No amount of money or prestige is worth your life or the lives of others. Take a real good look around you. Be grateful for those around you and the fat that you have a life to see and experience it all. You never know what tomorrow will bring or what could happen to you or the next person. So live your lives to the absolute fullest and take time to get to know each other.

I realize I have no right to suggest anything to anyone, but I am still breathing and I have the ability to make the most of this situation I'm in. I learned the lesson of not taking my days and moments for granted anymore. Although I am forever in debt to all of you, I do hope that I could at least encourage you all and offer something honest for once in my life. I care about you all very much. I hope nothing but happiness and true fulfillment in each of your lives.

My last suggestion to all you is to be yourselves. Enjoy your families, teachers, friends, and even strangers. You want all your memories to count. And believe me, you won't stay young forever. Enjoy the gift of life and keep your chins up out there. Take care, my friends.