Three years have passed since I first went to jail. I often think back to the bumpy, almost dangerous, ride over the bridge to Rikers Island. My classmates and I would hold onto our belongings and the handles of the van as we swerved to avoid potholes and bumps in the road, crossing from freedom to a caged environment. After the first few trips, I found myself focusing less on the obstacles of the road and more on the emotions bumping around in my head: the usual nerves to face a corrections officer and be patted down, fear and sadness about the future, but mostly excitement to see my classmates.

I would soon learn that for my Rikers classmates the road to a successful reentry into society would be even bumpier, filled with obstacles and barriers to finding employment, housing and rehabilitative services.

Fast-forward three years; with the memories of Rikers Island still replaying in my mind, I sat in a classroom 30 miles away in Jersey City, New Jersey. A former gang member debates with his classmates who I look more like: Casper the ghost or Flo from the Progressive Auto commercials. “If my opinion matters, I don’t think I look like either of those characters,” I add as the class erupts into laughter, confirming that my opinion on this topic did not matter. It was my first few months teaching workshops on job readiness skills at Jersey City Employment and Training Program and I was trying to lead an activity on interview skills.

[For more of this story, written by Kathleen White, go to http://jjie.org/2017/02/24/how...my-life-path-part-2/]