A TIME TO REMEMBER

I think the the most memorable experience from this semester is completing math 108; in fact completing all my class this semester is a big accomplishment for me. I plan to continue after this semester with the EMT class. I think this whole time that I am in school is great because. I never thought I could make it this far. Being in college has taught me how to be responsible and committed. I know if I stay on track, I will become what ever my mind is set on. I still have a long way to go in school; nevertheless, I won't give up.
My experience at "Butte College" will be exciting for me; moreover, I can tell my children about what I have done. As I grow my children will see how much I accomplished, and I can be a good role model for them as well.

The smell of Winter

My favorite season is winter; in fact every December I can smell Christmas approaching. The day before Christmas I can smell turkey, ham, and stuffing cooking. As I wait for Christmas I can smell the pine needles from our tree. Outside the wind is chilled and snow has covered the ground. Icicles hand from the gutters and the smell of hot fire places fuel the air. Although, it is dark I can see since, the lights from each house has lit the entire street up. As I return from outside I can hear "Deck the Hall" coming from in the house. Everyone is gathered around the fireplace singing Christmas carols and drinking eggnog. All that surrounds me is family singing, music and laughter. December is my favorite season because, It is a time when people give and receive.

Summer Plans

This summer we have so many plans. On June 7Th we are going to go to my daughters 6Th grade graduation. We have been waiting so long for this day. The biggest part of summer vacation is our 4Th of July camping trip. Every summer we get all the relatives together and plan the best camping trip ever at lake almoner, we do so much there we bike ride, swim, jet ski, and go out on the boat. The best part of the trip starts on the 4Th of July. The night of the 4Th of July everyone gets in the boat and we take a ride out to the middle of the lake. We wait for them to let off a wonderful display of fireworks. It's so beautiful it looks like the fireworks are going to land right on you. After the display we go to our campground and roast marshmallow's and tell scary stories by the bomb fire. This camping trip last 2 weeks then everyone packs up and leaves.
After I return home I plan to work at Enlo Hospital for work experience. I will be working right beside EMT and learning more about the job that I plan to enter. I will continue to work for the rest of the summer vacation, then when school starts in fall I will start the EMT courses I may need to start my career.

" The war within"

I believe I was fighting "a war within" for 3 long years. It all started when my daughter was taken from me. Every day got harder and harder. It took everything I had not to give up. Every court date brought "false hope." Coming home with out her made me feel incomplete. I worked so hard doing everything they told me just to get her back. The best news I have ever received was when they told me I got full custody of her once again. It was the longest court hearing ever. I was sitting there like usual just listening, taking it all in when the judge said, " Jolene you have proved that you really can change, so I am giving you full custody of your daughter," it took my breath away I couldn't believe the day had come. I was so full of joy and happiness that I couldn't even talk. All I remember saying was," Thank you so much." I believe I was given a second chance; therefore, I don't take my life for granted anymore.

My worst fear

The thing I am most afraid of is losing my children. I know that it won't happen unless I do something really bad, but at times I get scared just thinking about it. I will never want to put my family through any of that again. After being clean for 3 yrs, I have realized how wonderful life can be without drugs. I've learned how to live my life on gods will; therefore, I will take it one day at a time. Since I had the chance to face the only real fear that I ever had, it makes it easier to not follow that same path again. I can't imagine not waking up every morning without my children beside me. My children are my life now and they mean the world to me. I Will never take them for granted again, I realized how blessed I am for being able to have children now. Although it isn't always fun being a mother, I wouldn't give it up for anything.

Alone at last

If I got to pick 3 things before being stranded on a deserted island I would take matches, because I know I would have a really hard time trying to start a fire. I can't see myself trying to rub two sticks together. The second thing I would bring would be a knife. A knife would come in handy in so much different ways, first I can cut up any bamboo are wood I may need to make some kind of house. I will also need a knife to protect myself from all kinds of wild animals that are roaming around out there. I think bringing a knife and some matches I could cut up and cook my food and eat a great meal. The 3rd thing I would bring with me would be a some kind of medical kit in case I get stung, bit, or scratched by something. I know there would be so much things that can cause infection out there. With a medical kit I would last longer knowing that If anything were to bite me I can clean it up as soon as possible. So even though I would be really lonely out there I know I will be alright with the things I brought.

A Time I had to choose.

I have had to make plenty of difficult decisions in my life. The most recent one was deciding to live my life free of drugs. I am in recovery, and I have over three years clean. In 2002, I lost everything I have ever worked hard for. Including my daughter, my house, and my job all do to my drug use. I had to make a decision to either quit or go to jail. At that time it was the hardest choice I ever had to make. The day I decided that I wanted to get my daughter back, was the beginning of a long rough road to recovery. In 2004 I had a son who made things a lot more worth fighting for. My goal was to get my daughter back and have my son as well. In order to do that, I had to make all the right choices from from that point on; in fact, I made the decision to go to rehab and have my son. when I got back, I worked on getting my daughter.
Making the choice to live my life clean was much harder then I thought, but I have, and I love it. Since then, I have been clean and accomplished so much. I got full custody of my daughter and I had my son drug free. I made the choice to go to college, and most of all, I completed every program that was thrown at me. I know there will be a lot more challenges ahead in my life; nevertheless, there won't be any choice harder then the one I just had to face, which was getting my life back.