|
|
Ricky
|
|
This is the working title of a book I recently began to write about my troubled teenage years while serving time in the Main Adult Detention Facility (County jail) of Sonoma County, Northern California which I hope will be available in due course in published form. Together with the assistance of my Mentor, we worked out a rough and preliminary sketch of the book, including a Title Page, Dedication, Foreword and Chapter Headings. I have a passion and a talent for drawing, so the book will be illustrated with some of my drawings.
I have written a number of pages of material in raw form as I am able to recollect events over my nineteen years and as I try to define my innermost thoughts and my sense of values. All of this raw material will certainly require a great deal of re-writing, organizing, interviewing, etc., by an individual with some professional writing experience willing to spend the time and effort required to shape the material suitable for publishing. This is a work in progress which I hope will eventually will see the light of day in book form. The immediate goal of this website is an effort to find such a person, or persons, to collaborate with me in achieving the ultimate goal: a published account of my troubled life and my efforts to turn my life around. It would certainly be a labor of love for anyone undertaking this effort. There is probably nothing particularly unique in my background and experiences that countless other struggling teenagers who have been raised in a gang-infested, crime-ridden and drug addiction environment have not experienced; however, I am willing to step up to the plate and publicly acknowledge, as the book will amply portray, the details of my troubled life. I've been through the gauntlet of crimes, large and small, from elementary school expulsions, to time served in Juvenile Halls, more than once, to several jail terms and I am now facing the possibility of a prison sentence. My crimes have largely been confined to gang activities, drug and alcohol addiction, breaking probation, "running" from rehab programs - I have not been involved in any bodily harm crimes. The larger question that needs to be addressed is can I really and truly turn my life around and become a respected and productive member of society? The short answer is Positively Yes. This is a process that requires among other things, patience and understanding. One does not spend nineteen years in an adverse environment and suddenly, one day, leap to a socially accepted "normal" lifestyle. The very act of chronicling my life's story already has resulted in remarkable changes in my outlook on life and my attitudes - I have unequivocally renounced any involvement in gang activities, regardless of the consequences; I have a much more positive attitude with respect to my fellow compatriots; and I have gained much more self-esteem and confidence. My purpose in writing the story of my life is not to toot my own horn, but rather to toot a new horn that hopefully will be loud and clear enough to reach the hundreds of young boys and girls struggling with many of the same problems I've experienced and will come to understand the futility of pursuing an adverse lifestyle that can only result in harm to themselves and to society. The future of our nation, indeed of the entire world, rests on the ability of our young people worldwide to lead the nations on a path of peace and harmony. Idealistic - Yes, but anything less would result in consequences too disastrous to contemplate.
| Foreword |
Artwork
| Dedication |
|
|
By
the way of a brief introduction, my name is Enrique Valenzuela, age 19. I
am generally known by my nickname of Ricky. Although born in Mexico I have
lived in the United States since age 3. I received my GED Diploma while
serving time in Juvenile Hall and I attended Santa Rosa Junior College for
one semester.
