On May 27th of last school year I made the decision to double lunch with my best friend. Before stopping at Pineda or Subway we agreed to spend some time at Target. I think she needed like a V-shirt.  Anyways, to make a long story short, I attempted to walk out of Target with more items than I had originally walked in with. It wasn’t planned or anything…it was just a very ignorant impulse.

Of course, I was arrested, given a ticket and marched back onto South property escorted by an officer. To make the situation just a tad more embarrassing, this took place at the beginning of second lunch so about half of the school saw a delinquent version of me.

Theft isn’t really my thing. I disappointed my family and many of my friends and that may have been the worst. And that incident was the reason why I got kicked out/moved out of my house for a few months.

I was really lucky that the Seward Longfellow Restorative Justice Program (SLRJP) was there because they gave me a second chance so I could correct my mistakes. They were very helpful and supportive.

I learned that stealing things actually affects all of us. It’s why some things are so expensive, it affects employees’ raises and sometimes it is even the reason why people are sometimes laid off. And Target makes considerable donations to our public schools so I’m almost positive that theft doesn’t help those appropriations.

In conclusion, I’m extremely thankful to the SLRJP for allowing me to participate in this program so I could learn my lesson and move on with a cleaner record. And to everyone reading this, please learn from my lesson because it is not a pleasant one to attain.