Aaron,
For me it took many, many years and situations to realize the unconditional love in my family, whether it were mine for them or theirs for me. For instance, I have always had unconditional love for the family members that I am closest to. My late sister and I had an unbreakable bond. She was my best friend. My mother is my hero and my rock. She had to take on not only the role of my mother, but also my father’s role for many years in my life.
I realized my family had unconditional love for me during my late teens and early into my twenties. I was taken by the state at six years old and placed in group homes until I was thirteen, then I came home as a rebellious teenager. I became addicted to drugs and lost who I was as a person. I became an evil human caring for no one other than my mother, sister, and grandmother.
Even though I cared for the above-mentioned people, I lied to them, scared them, stole from them, and subjected them to worry and heartache from my behavior and choices. I ultimately took someone’s life during a robbery when I was 23 years old, resulting in a life sentence in prison. I remember at my sentencing looking back over my right should er and seeing the three most important women in my life with unconditional love for me, and pain in their eyes. This broke me.
I was sent to prison. For the first fourteen years I continued to disappoint my family and loved ones with my actions, yet they never gave up on me, nor did their love for me ever weaken. But now, at 39 years old, I live a life in prison that shows my family that I am grateful for their constant support and love and it wasn’t in vain.
For the last year and a half, I have had my mother and multiple loved ones say that they love me and that they are proud of me, which is an unexplainable feeling. For many years, I never gave them a reason to say such things to me.
I say all this to say that no matter the choices that I have made in life, if I look hard enough I can see that the love they had for me even though for a lot of dark times I didn’t deserve it, I am blessed to have it. My mother said one day, “My son, you are my son. We share the same DNA. When are you going to stop letting your mistakes define you and rise above them and life your life to its fullest?” I didn’t get it when she said this, but I now do and no longer let my mistakes define me. Now instead, I let my goals and accomplishments speak for themselves and help others from making the same mistakes I made. | ELH