Untitled-321 by Jay Goodman
If coming to prison hasn’t taught me anything, it’s definitely showed me. It’s never too late to change. All of us can change the course of our lives if we want. I have heard all throughout my life people say, “I’m too old to change, he or she is too stubborn to change, they’re too mean or hateful to change�? I cannot begin to tell everyone all the excuses I’ve heard why someone cannot change
But in all reality, it doesn’t matter who you are, or how young or old you are. It doesn’t matter what you’ve been through, what your background is, what you’ve done, or where you’re at.
Anyone can change the course of their lives. When I look around me in prison, I have wondered many times why prisoners don’t want to change, and I’ve wondered why the people in control of the prison system won’t change. Don’t get me wrong, there are some people in prison that change, and there are some who makes someone of a change. Meaning, something happens to them, like the loss of a family member, or they meet someone in here, who shows that there is something better in life that they could be doing. Whatever it is that open their eyes, they realize that they could change, and they became excited, and hopeful.
The problem with many of these people is whatever inspired them was short-lived. Many people don’t realize that once you see something that has inspired you to change, you have to continue to pursue it. It’s like getting into shape, I’ve never met a person who doesn’t want to be in physically good condition. I cannot begin to tell everyone how many people I’ve heard throughout my life say, “I really need to start working out.�? They see someone who is in great shape, and they would like that for themselves, but they won’t continue to pursue it.
I have seen countless of people want to change things in their life, but for most people change is the most difficult thing. Even if it’s something that will make your life better in every way. I’ll look around me a prison and have wondered. what is it that makes am not able to change? I have wondered if stupidity has something to do with it? But I have met people who were not well educated to accomplish great things. But then I have met some well-educated people who are not very life smart. So I don’t believe education has anything to do with it.
Why some people it takes hard knocks to change, some won’t change, no matter what happens. Like being in prison, for almost 2 decades has opened my eyes to change. I have done everything in my ability to change. Why I see others around me, who have years in prison if not decades, and still doing the same old shit that brought them here to begin with.
I see some people think they need something to help them change. And why encouragement from someone we like, respect, or love can motivated person tremendously, every single man and woman must learn that real changes from within.
Can everyone imagine your life without the ability to change? Can you imagine how boring life would be if you did not have the ability to change. Every day you would just get up and do the same thing over and over again. But the odd thing is, this is how most people live their entire life. Why? Because they won’t change. It doesn’t take a genius to change, all it takes is the ability to realize you want something better in life. I read a story once that told of a little boy. It went, “once upon a time, there was a young boy who lived near a beach. Every afternoon the boy would walk along the beach. One day as he was walking, he noticed that, as the tide had gone out, it had left mini starfish stranded on the beach. He realized that if the starfish were left There, they were die before the water returned. So as he walked along the beach, one by one he picked up the starfish in through the back into the water. He couldn’t pick them all up because they were too many, but the ones he could pick up he did. From that day forward, the boy would spend his afternoon walking along the beach, throwing the starfish back into the water. Then one day as the boy was walking, an old man came walking in the other direction. The old man saw what the young boy was doing, and cried out, what are you doing, boy? You won’t change things. Why don’t you enjoy your walk? The boy ignore the old man, and kept throwing starfish back into the water. Once again, the old man asked, how do you think you can change things? Justin, the young boy bend down and reach for another starfish. And standing up, he threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then, looking into the old man’s eyes, he said, I was able to change things for that one.�?
A lot of people forget that change is possible, you are never too old, or too young to start. Even though the story of the young boy, with the starfish may seem like just a cute little story. It does show how some people think. The old man thought look at all the starfish, why the little boy seen he could make a change. I have learned that if I want to grow as a human being, if I want to accomplish great things, I must be willing to make changes throughout my life. At different times in our lives, we all need to make changes.
I have noticed that all men and women have dreams, I have also noticed that some people achieve their dreams, and for some others they seem out of reach. Why is this? Could it be that some people dream and wait for their dreams to come true, while others make the necessary changes that help them make their dreams come true. Once again, do not say, “I am too old�? Don’t say, “I’m too young.�?
Tiger Woods was three years old when he shot a 48 for nine holes in Cypress California; Julie Andrews was eight years old when she mastered a 4-octave singing range; Mozart was eight years old when he wrote his first symphony; Anne Frank was 13 years old when she began her diary. Ralph Waldo Emerson was 14 years old when he enrolled at Harvard; Paul McCartney was 15 years old when John Lennon invited him to join the band; Bill Gates was 19 years old when he cofounded Microsoft; Plato was 20 years old when he became a student of Socrates; Joe DiMaggio was 26 years old when he hit safely in 56 consecutive games; Ralph Lauren was 29 years old when he created polo; Bill Gates was 31 when he became a billionaire; Thomas Jefferson was 33 years old when he wrote the Declaration of Independence; Mother Theresa was 40 years old when she founded this mission of charity; Henry Ford was 50 when he started his first manufacturing assembly line; Ray Kroc was a 52 year old man milkshake machine salesman when he brought out Mac and Dick McDonald and officially started McDonald’s; Pablo Picasso was 55 when he painted Guernica; Don Perignon was 60 when he first produced champagne; Winston Churchill was 65 when he became Britain’s Prime Minister; Nelson Mandela was 71 when he was released from prison in South Africa and four years later, was elected president of South Africa; Michelangelo was 72 years old when he designed the dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Whether you are 13 or 80, the rest of your life is ahead of you. You cannot change one minute of your past, but you can change your whole future.
