Heading back home, it was time for my new goal to become a succesful member of society, to be put to the test. I would have to deal with the temptations that had once got me into a lot of trouble. I would have to ignore and steer clear of some of the (so-called) friends that I had been "up to no good" with.
I had already been expelled from all portland public schools (blessing in disguise), so I was enrolled at Open Meadow Alternative Schools (where I now serve on the Board of Directors). I had a lot of momentum already going for me, so my next goals were to graduate from High School early (after skipping out the entire first half of my freshman year) and get off of probation ASAP. With the help and support of the teachers at Open Meadow, and an a mentor outside of school Fred Woods, I continued to work hard and do all the extra little things on top of everything I was supposed to be doing. To earn extra credits I would: work after school and on the weekends at a Shell Gas Station, attend ITT Technical Institute as part of a partnership program with the High School, serve on the Student Review Board, speak on behalf of Open Meadow at fundraising or community events, landscaping at the school during the summers..on the weekends I would also participate in a program called Project Payback, where I would do community service type work and earn money that would go to pay back damage that had been done to others property.....It all kept me very busy, but also helped me stay away from all the negative influences that would try to pull me back down. When I wasn't busy with school, and the extra activities, I would go to counseling and youth empowerment groups that my Mentor Fred Woods was holding. Fred had overcome a lot of mistakes he had made on the Portland Streets in the past and was dedicating his life to help save as many of the "at risk" youth in N. Portland as he could.
When it was all said and done, I graduated high school from Open Meadow at the age of 17 after only two and a half years of attending Open Meadow. I believed I could do it from my very first day away from the group home, but my teachers also backed me and let me know they believed in me too. I knew if I screwed up again, I would not just be letting myself down, but letting down all the others that had cared about me and worked so hard to support me in this journey.
A month or so into my final year in High School, I experienced something amazing. I had a Probation Court Hearing to try and get off of probation a year early. I had to face Judge, Katherine English, who had a reputation in the juvenile courts of being one of the toughest Judges there were. She had scorned me already on multiple occassions, sent me to JDH, sent me to the group home, etc., and now I would be going in front of her to request getting off probation early! I was lucky to have my probation officer on my side, and Fred Woods there to speak on my behalf. When Judge English heard about all the strides I had been making, I saw something I had never seen on her face...a smile :-) In front of the entire court room, I received praise and applause from her. She spoke directly at me in front of everyone and told me about her retiring soon and this is the exact thing she needed to hear to help close this chapter in her book. She then proceeded to invite me to her house sometime for coffee and doughnuts! Seriously! So, yes I was let off of probation a year early.
I thought to myself, wow getting invited, in front of the whole court room, to go hang out with my hard ass Judge.... at her house..........hard work must be paying off!
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