🔵 By Ivory Andis. Photo by lauragrafie.
!!! Good morning Runners !!!
So last night I was watching the Avengers movies. Those of you who don’t know me I’m a huge nerd! 🙂 But I don’t watch these movies and read the comics because they’re super hero’s and they’re cool. I’m a fan of these characters because they went thru pain, loss, and shame. Some of the things we went thru so I know we relate to their stories. And all thru that pain, fear and hate… they keep getting back up. They keep fighting back. Even when they lose… they come back stronger. Reminds me of a quote that Stan Lee said „Anyone Can Wear The Mask. It’s Up To You To Take That Leap Of Faith.“
I guess what I’m trying to say is that we can overcome our pain… our crime. We deserve this second chance. I know for a fact that most of the women standing before me went thru traumatic stuff. Been told that they can’t do anything right, they will never change, or you should hate yourself. But I will tell you this, when you run, run to gain your power back! Run for your mental health! Run to regain your strength! RUN FOR YOUR FREEDOM! Run for your families and children, but most of all… Run for the nay sayers!! Prove them wrong! We are not our crime. We are not just another number! That we do matter. We are worthy and we can change!
Yes… we have made horrible mistakes but that doesn’t mean we can’t be redeemed. So when you run think of your victims. Remember them and honor them. Make this Second Chance count. Forgive yourself. Run for your pain you went thru. You deserve this! This is your RUN!! Think of the life you’re going to live. What simple things in life we will enjoy. Because you are given this chance to remind society that we are human. We are worthy. Remind them we are mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, and grandparents. We deserve this chance to prove we are People! TODAY IS YOUR DAY! Seize this day. Take advantage of this day, this opportunity. Take that leap of Faith, because it’s up to you!
ARE YOU READY!!
I wrote this for Second Chances 5k run for the whole facility. I also drew a poster that was Captain Marvel! But they took it and displayed it somewhere. If you don’t know what second chances is I will be glad to tell you. Second Chances started because people who were incarcerated had a hard time in reentry in the community. People forget… Or society forgets that we are people. Yes we made mistakes but we deserve a second chance to live in communities, have jobs, and join churches. Incarcerated people have a hard time taking back their lives. So Second Chance Month was created to bring awareness to society to give grace and room for forgiveness. So yeah… I wrote that. Oh, so one of the events is a 5k run. So that’s why I wrote this speech. They picked me to write and draw some things. So I hope you like it. 🙂