A Turning Point in My Life
suspended. I didn’t have anybody to control me because I
had lost my brother and it took a huge part of my heart. My
mother kept being called to school. I was in deep trouble.
She was very disappointed in me.
My principal took us on a field trip. It was for the bad
students who were getting suspended. We went to the jail. I
saw people there with different colored jump suits. The
correctional officer took us on a tour. I was so nervous
because the inmates looked at me as if I was a girl and I
knew what that meant. The officer told us not to go by the
bars because it was dangerous; he made us walk to the other
side so we wouldn’t have to interact with the inmates. Then
he had me sit inside a cell. It was disgusting. On the wall
were blood stains, gum, and curse words. The smell was
awful. After that we went back to the school. I was not
affected by anything that I had seen. It didn’t change me. I
was still fighting in school, kept getting suspended and
skipping classes. A couple of months passed. It was on a
Sunday and I was about to go to church. My mother
suddenly received a phone call from my aunt in Haiti. My
aunt screamed, “People beat Herbert! He became sick! Your
son has passed away!”
It didn’t really hit me until my mother started crying. I
broke down crying too. That day for me was very, very sad
and it became the turning point in my life. I realized life
was too short and I needed to get my act together. So I
changed. I stopped having fist fights. I stopped getting
suspended. Thoughts of my brother never being able to
return to Miami and my mother never being able to see him
again made me realize that every day was so precious.
That’s why I changed that day. Four years have passed.
I’ve graduated from high school. Now my mother is proud
of me. I am attending a refrigeration, air conditioning, and
heating repair program and plan to become a successful
entrepreneur.
Lincolnson Paul is a student at Lindsey Hopkins Tech. Ed. Center.