I took stock in the days after arriving back at my family's home in Leimert Park. I had hurtled a major legal obstacle. I had made it out of Skid Row.
Now what?
That question pounded in my head like a migraine headache, impossible to ignore.
My first thought was to make up for lost time, getting get a higher paying job and moving on with my life. After looking at employment advertisements, I began to see things differently. I put my emotions in check and set my mind to figuring.
I did a thorough assessment of the current economic environment — and of myself. The nation is currently embroiled in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Companies are downsizing and the unemployment rate is increasing. People are losing jobs and homes. More and more candidates are competing for fewer jobs. Furthermore, I am 55 years old, and while ageism is neither legal and nor politically correct, its practice is alive and well in the labor market.
Those economic and social conditions were not the most important factors in my analysis, though. I also took a good hard look at myself. Yes, I have made tremendous strides. I overcame many obstacles and reunited with my family. I have begun taking care of my mother and carving out a new career in online media.
It's true that each stage of transition came with a different set of challenges that required me to adjust and re-focus and operation, meeting the demand of greater responsibilities every step of the way.
They also brought some glitches. Perhaps I was a few minutes late to work on occasion, or missed deadlines on my column or other articles. I don't make excuses for myself — I made those mistakes. Looking back on them — and considering future — I realized that it made no sense to rush into more responsibilities. I still needed to solidify my foundation to ensure it would not fold with under the weight of new responsibilities.
I drew on lessons learned at the University of Skid Row, where life had taught me the value of patience. Everything has its process, and one must let the process take its course. Plant the seeds, nurture them, and let things develop. My experience with the excruciatingly slow process of the criminal justice system had also prepared me. So had the process of clearing years-old obligation to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and the State of California's version of the agency. I had been fortunate to have two top Downtown lawyers offer their services for free. They worked with me, and I got back in the habit of responding to requests for information in a timely fashion, obtaining personal documentation and records — playing a role in my own recovery.
I though of that recent past as I pondered the future. I eventually summoned the courage to plant the biggest seed of all. I decided that I would attempt to regain admittance to the University of Pennsylvania in hopes of getting the diploma that slipped from my grasp when I dropped out of college many years ago.
I had earned my degree at the University of Skid Row — that famous and fractious school of hard knocks. I had seen patience and courage open doors of hope and opportunity in a place where few believe such qualities could exist.
I will try to get back to Penn — and to finish the job this time around.
I'll bring your a report card on that plan next week.
Walter Melton is a writer for the L.A. Garment & Citizen.
Visit Walter Melton's blog at www.scribeskidrow.blogspot.com.
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