Narrative: Final Paper

“I’m going to return her to her parent’s custody and close her case,” said Judge Bazzle. This was one of the happiest days of my life. It meant I was finally free to make my own decisions. See this court thing has been going on since around my birthday in 2001. This last time I went into states custody they decided that I should go into foster care so I could learn how to be responsible. My mom and I both went into court expecting to go to jail and detention for at least 30 days or get some other form of punishment. I think when I went into court even though I was facing contempt that it all boiled back to me being responsible and going to school.

The three times that I have been to programs have completely changed my life. What I mean is that every new program I have been to had a different affect on me. Although I hated having to leave my home and live somewhere else for a couple months at a time I’m glad I’ve been able to go. I think that if I wouldn’t have been able to go to them that I would be a completely different person. I think that me going to programs has helped me mature and know what I want out of my life.

Even though I’m extremely happy with being free I think me going through all these things has helped my life in so many ways. It has helped me with my social and personal relations, knowing what I want, growing up, being able to be responsible, and so many more things. I think one of the most important things I learned is that being responsible even though it’s not very fun it will help me be able to succeed with what I want in my life. I’m also very glad that I was able to go through all of this when I was younger so that by the time I turn 18 I’ll be done with court and I will also know how to manage my life.

I have been in O&A, Young Woman’s Empowerment Center, and in/out of Slate Canyon Youth Center. Around last May is when I decided that my life wasn’t going the way I wanted it to. I didn’t want to be in the system anymore, and if that meant that I had to stop doing drugs, go to school, and follow everything they said I was going to. Even though I have still been in the system for a year it was worth it because this last time when I went into foster care is when I feel that I learned and grew the most. Even though it has taken me this long and has probably been one of the biggest challenges in my life till this point in my life I actually don’t regret anything that has happened.

Since April 2007 I’ve been in and out of the court system. It has been a long stressful road, but I also think it has been a very meaningful life lesson. I have been able to learn so much like being responsible for my choices/actions, also by learning how to manage my time where I can still do my homework and get everything else that I need to done. This is basically the story of how I came to be put into the court system for the last 2 years.

Brianna