Believing That You Can
separate from all my family, especially my mother. I had to
do things on my own. I also had to get used to a new
culture and language. Separating from my family was
difficult. When they first told me that I was coming to the
U.S., I was like I don’t care, it is not a big deal. The first
couple of days when I got to the U.S., I remember that I
cried because I missed my mother and other family
members. I just wanted to go back to my country. Those
days of being in my room and doing nothing just made me
think of my country. Although being separated from my
family members was difficult, having to do things on my
own was hard too.
In my country, my mom used to do everything for me.
I had to learn how to do things that I had never done before
like cooking, doing laundry, and going to school alone. I
had to do some cooking for myself because I was starving
and no one was here to do it for me. I called my mother to
ask her how to cook an egg. As for laundry, I didn’t even
know how to fold my clothes. The United States is a big
encounter to anyone and for me it was extremely hard. Its
language was hard to learn and get used to the culture and
the way of living was the hardest. Coming to the United
States was a turning point in my life, but in the end, it was
all worth it.
Jose M. Carmona is a student at The English Center
How Jail Changed My Life for the Better
I see things differently now than when I did in August
of 2012. I was incarcerated in the Santa Rosa County Jail
for a probation violation. I went to court for final sentencing
on September 25, 2012. At that court appearance I was
given an option to take a sentence of 11 months and 29 days
county jail time or 18 months in the Florida Department of
Corrections. I chose to do county time because I have never
been to prison before and did not want to start then. Since
that time, I have had no contact with my family for 8
months.
In addition to no family contact, I have been housed
with inmates who had charges ranging from driving with no