Interpersonal Communication Reflection

Reflection Paper: Session one
I.
Introduction
A. I never thought I would have the opportunity to describe in detail, some of the most
pinnacle and influential moments of my life. Outside of keeping a slightly inconsistent
journal, I have never had reason to share these experiences.
B. I understand that the purpose of this assignment is, to determine comprehensive capability
in referral to what course is most suitable for myself. Having said this I must take this
opportunity to mention that my grammar skills are not quite to tune. It has been sometime
since I’ve written such material.
C. It took me 24 years to learn that underlying positivity and the belief that WE are in control
of our own circumstances is the key to reaching inner happiness and peace. Also, only when
we accept

complete responsibility for our own actions, can we begin to remove the walls of
restraint.
D. I am embarrassed at how improper and misplaced my commas and other punctuation are
forgive me.
E. I am choosing to focus this reflecyion paper on the lessons that I have learned, while you
may see some of them as negative (I sure did at one point) I can assure the reader that I
would make no changes to my past. I have been to places that made my skin crawl, and I
have been in the company of people that I am truly ashamed to have ever known.
F. The thesis of my paper, is that sometimes the best thing we can encounter is a good old
fashion reality check, and or loss of things that were once taken for granted. In addition, I
am also expressing my belief that everything happens for a reason, and our creator never
faces us with any chgallenge that we cannot conquer. All we can do is make a choice as to
what is most meaningful to us, and find the best way to preserve it, care for it and finally
lead others to find the same realization.
Growing up in Fruita was great. My family loves each other very much and I was raised with
access to many things, and always had financial support with my mother and father.
However there were things happening with my fathers alcoholism and other addictions. Life
was great on the surface and I focused my energy on school and sports. I began smoking pot
after I learned of my fathers first act of infidelity. I would have began smoking period so I
don’t want it ensued that I’m blaming him for the beginning of my own addictions, im just
saying I was so mad and felt so betrayed that day that I wanted to do the most rebellious
thing I could think of at the age of 13, and for me it was smoking pot.

Reflection Paper: Session one
Page 2 of 3
1. I guess you could say that’s when things slowly began to spiral out of control. I was
playing in a little league baseball game and I had taken upper pills and smoked pot
before that game. I was pitching, I always pitched. I had a mean curve and could throw a
college knuckleball when I was 13. I freaked out on the mound. All I could remember
thinking was how shitty I looked. I felt like I was watching myself just throw like a
chump, and all the time I was terrified that my coach would know, or worse my dad. I
told myself I wasn’t going to smoke anymore and that became one of the many lies I
began telling myself. The next 7 years of my life were a wasted blur. I got expelled twice
in high school. Once for drugs and once for threating the baseball coach, after quitting
the team my sophomore year.
1. When I was 21 years old I began getting into trouble with the law due to disputes that I
was having inside my own home. I remember getting kicked out of my house because
the previous weekend my father had stolen my Adderall and was gone for 3 days. I
broke into his car to get my pills back and ended up getting kicked out of my house and
having a restraining order filed against me. Times were pretty messed up. A week into
being kicked out I went home to do laundry. I think my mom must have felt bad because
she said I go home and do it. When I was there the police randomly showed and I was
arrested and placed in mesa county jail for 6 days. This was the start of a seemingly
long and very miserable three and a half years. At 22 I was convicted of f-5 forgery and
sentenced to 16 months in the department of corrections with a mandatory parole term
of 2 years. I had a very difficult time with parole for two reasons. I was smoking pit still
as well as drinking, and I was desperately trying to move on with my life. I was sent
twice to community correction settings. The first facility I went to was in Colorado
springs. While I was there I missed my family very much, it was the first time I had ever
been away from grand junction as well as my friends. I was so mad that I was being
deproved of my freedom and my family because I smoked pot. I had completed all my
community service and had already spent nearly a year of my life in prison! This
attitude did not get me ver far in the 180 day program. In my second month there I was
removed and sent back to a DOC facility because I had a U/A that tested positive for
marijuana. I finished the remainder of my 180 day violation sentence and returned
home, for about two weeks.

Again I was sent back to a community correction facility.
This time my violation was due to a 9:00pm curfew violation. For my second com core
trip I was sent to Denver. Here I obtained a job working at a tax attorneys office and was
making fairly decent money. This seemed to frustrate the staff at the community
correction facility. I was frequently unallowed to leave for work due to petty rules such
as, failure to complete chores. I was paying 200 dollars a month to live in a sess pool.
Eventually I was removed from the program and sent to adams county jail were I waited
to return to prison and finish the remainder of my 180 days. I was released on march
21st from adams county jail and returned home. The next day I went to see my parole
officer and was told that I would be returning to prison for the remaining 8 months of
my parole term

Reflection Paper: Session one
Page 3 of 3
2. I was sent to sterling correctional center. I was in the lowest security side, but I was still
around inmates that were serving life sentences. My outlook on life was instantly
changed. I returned home, met the woman of my dreams and enrolled in school and am
the happiest I’ve ever

been.