The Second Chance

“After me and my family got evicted, I’m out of here. It’s hard to find a job, so this all I know. This is the first thing I go to.” Says Ross- a resident of Nicetown, Philadelphia, PA: which is among one of the areas hardest stricken by the effects of mass-incarceration and the lack of opportunities that accompany with it. Ross –a good-looking young man with tattoos up to his neck- recently finished time in prison and has no high school diploma, leading him to dealing drugs as the streets continue to flare. Jondhi Harrell, the executive director to Center for Returning Citizens (TCRC), has been engaged in helping Ross to abandon the ‘street corner’. He provided Ross with a $100 moving job and allows him to access the computers in the front…

I currently volunteer for my church in the youth department, (I started in the beginning of 2015), and I’ve been talking with a few of the directors on informing people about Second Chance Pet Adoptions. Moving forward, the people of the church and I are looking into getting involved at local Petsmarts and Petcos through this foundation as monthly volunteers. As an organization their goal is to save homeless animals and treat them if needed. Second Chance Pet Adoptions is a non-kill management…

Criminal Justice Frontline’s video, “Second Chance Kids,” takes its viewers through a controversial topic: life in prison for those who committed crimes as teens. Before the mid 2000s, teenagers who murdered someone get sentenced to life without parole. The arguments that teenagers grow up and change convinced courts to reconsider giving parole to those who were convicted for their crimes made as a teen. In one case, Anthony Rolon was 17 years old when he committed a crime. He was helping his…

The War on Second Chances I think that young people’s actions are the result of their parents/caregivers influence as long as they are living under their roof.. Parenting styles are known to have an impact on the development of children, so if their offspring are acting out, parental influences are usually the predominant factor. As I was reading The War on Second Chances, I made a connection to Omar Khadr being taught that something morally wrong, such as ‘the enemy deserves to die’, is the…

Do people really deserve a second chance? It really depends on the situation, personally I think if someone, is mean and grumpy all the time, sure, they deserve a second chance, because they can change, like Scrooge from A Christmas Carol, he is always mean and grumpy at the beginning, and at the end, he's so nice and happy. You have to do so much to get a second chance, and really show you’ve changed, but even if you do it will always, find a way back to you. I’m more on the side that,…

A new year means a new beginning. It is a mystery what this beginning has in store, so many people have rituals to secure a lucky new year. Vietnamese New Year(Tet) is practiced to ensure a lucky new year . Before any celebration is held, it is crucial that one’s house is tended properly to bring good fortune. The house must first be thoroughly cleaned from top to bottom. It is believed that by sweeping the floor, that one is sweeping away the bad luck from last year. Hence, it is common for…

action or behavior performed to produce some sort of effect such as: improved fertility or increased luck. A taboo is an object or action that is avoided in fear of transgressing or producing some undesired outcome. A fetish is an object with a supernatural or magical meaning attached to it. A fetish is believed to have some power such as: granting good luck or making the bearer a better speaker. Gmelch shows that in the context of baseball, ritual, taboo, and fetish were common in pitching and…

That second chance that I was given in my audition should have never happened. In an All State audition, things like that do not just happen on a regular basis. The professional recorders do not make mistakes. However, when I realized that I had a chance to redeem myself, I had to take a deep breath and focus on the task at hand. I now knew that the possibility to fail was an option, and I was not going to let that happen, This audition meant too much to me. Singing with all my heart, I tried to…

Have you ever been in a situation where you had stood there trying to explain to your parents why you had failed a test that you were well prepared for, I suppose you look around the room as if you could escape the question overall because you simply can’t find a justified response. It happens to everyone at times which is normal but for me I’ve always had bad luck, it followed me wherever I went, from one hometown to the other. It would make sense to say no change ever brought a change in luck.…

him. “ Today is the day, the day to finally get back to that old Miss.Watson.” Huck puts on his old sweaty clothes and begins to walk outside. “ Back on the grassy plains oh how this keeps looking less and less different as I see more. While walking Huck sees Jim the black slave that works for Miss Watson! “Jim why did you come looking for me in this godforsaken grasslands?” “ Jim says,” why I came for you because Miss Watson said she 'll take me down to Orleans and sell me for eight…