Author: Kaylee Wyrick Page 3 of 4

The story of the founding of Virginia is extremely dark and violent. The colonization of Virginia was a craze for power and a lack of human respect. The colonies thought that they had divine right to the land, and therefore divine right to murder and steal from the natives. The land that is now Virginia was originally Tsenacomoco. The history of Virginia is filled with bloodshed, which is something I was not previously aware of. I was not taught much about Virginian history in school or about Native American history as a whole. I was surprised to learn that the driving force of greed among the colonizers was masked as religious values. Although the settlers had no regard for non-English life, they saw nothing wrong with what they were doing.

Question for Julie McConnell: You and your students represent clients on a pro-bono basis, what is the process of selecting cases to represent consist of?

PREP: Who are the incarcerated youth?

The Conversation Article:

• I did not realize how many juveniles were tried as adults or given life sentences without parole.
• Thinking about the perpetrator’s perspective does not necessarily diminish the victim.
• Negative attitudes towards juvenile offenders caused the increase in JLWOP but that is changing more recently.

Post-D Program:

• A good alternative to JLWOP or Juvenile incarceration.
• Try to get to the root of the problem; the program really cares about rehabilitation.
• Strict criteria to meet.

The Atlantic Video:

• The facility was designed with adult offenders in mind.
• The facility is the only one like it in the entire state of Virginia.
• The facility is at least an hour away from most families, and many are advocating for a closer location.
• The facility was not built with youth rehabilitation in mind (empty cells are used).

I thought that the lunch with Terence, Kelvin, and David went really well and was extremely insightful. I was surprised that they (especially Terence) were extremely interested in what our goal was in the class. Their goal while writing differed, and our goal as a class seems to be to learn and grow as people. Hearing the men talk about how much they cared and the difference they wanted to make with readers was truly eye-opening. I’m very grateful that they spent time with us, and that they were so open and honest.

1. (For either Terence or Kelvin) Both of you grew up in less-than-ideal situations, and as children you were subject to things that children usually are not and should not see. Do you think that if there had been intervention by social services your life may have gone a different way? And if so do you think that social services failed you as children, or do you think that intervention would have been irrelevant?

2. (For Kelvin) Years after you finished your memoir, you were rearrested for marijuana possession. When buying, did you ever see yourself in or relate to the person you were buying from? Did you ever consider that you were contributing to a system that had previously hurt your life?

After finishing “Writing Our Way Out”, I can sincerely say that I’m happy that we read this book for class. I was hesitant about it at first, but after getting further into the story it was almost impossible to put down. The authors became great storytellers, and it was interesting to see how they progressed throughout the book. One of the authors whose story caught my eye was Naji Mujahid.  His story spoke to me the most, and I was happy to see how far he had come by the end of his story.

Naji was a child when he and his brother found their mother dead. It was heartbreaking for him, and he remembers her funeral in detail. After the death of his mother, he was sent to live with his grandmother since he didn’t know who his father was. Nani’s grandmother was extremely abusive and treated Naji horribly. He was told that if he reported her behavior it would only get worse. He tried to get away but the system failed him and he was always returned to his grandmother. He caved love and attention, and he went looking for it in the wrong places. Eventually, he found the love and happiness he craved, but the problem was that he found these feelings in cocaine.

Naji is sent to jail for breaking and entering while trying to fund his drug habits. He just wanted to fit in after being physically and emotionally abused for his whole life. He’s in prison and considering suicide, but instead, he makes a commitment to learning. He joins the Nation of Islam and eventually becomes a part of the 5% Nation. He becomes arrogant and argues with those who aren’t a part of the 5% Nation. Eventually, he starts to become disenfranchised with the group and decides to borrow a Qur’an from a fellow inmate. He reads it and it changes his life forever. He left the 5% Nation and converted to Islam. He changes his name to Naji Mujahid to further distance himself from his past.

He’s released from prison and starts to care for his grandmother, despite everything she put him through. His new-found religion allows him to forgive her and work towards peace within himself. He struggles with his faith but eventually is released and starts his life again. He has brief legal troubles due to a weed-related charge, but he wants a better life for himself. He found writing therapeutic, and it helped him come to terms with many of the things he went through. I loved reading about his ups and downs, and I felt honored to be able to read his story. He wasn’t perfect, but I still believe that his story is inspiring.

“Writing Our Way Out” has been a great read so far. Coogan is a volunteer from Virginia who works with incarcerated men in a writing workshop. He went into the class with a plan and specific idea but quickly realized how hard it is to truly plan for a project like this. He worked with the men on their writing and invited them to tell their truth. He helps the men explore their childhood, family relations, and where they grew up. He wanted the men to dive deep into themselves in order to truly learn how they ended up in prison and in whatever situations they found themselves in. This book is great so far, but it is definitely a hard read. When some of the men talked about the things they went through and how they were treated, it made me sick to my stomach. It’s obvious that things the men experienced led them down the path they ended up on, and as the reader it makes you wonder what could have been different. Some of the stories are heartbreaking, and they truly humanize the men. Often, people in prison are disregarded in society and seen simply as criminals. These memoirs help show that these are real people with feelings and stories. 

After reading the portfolio guide, I am much less nervous about what the course has in store. Before reading the book, I had only ever heard of art portfolios so I was confused about what a writing portfolio might look like. Now I know that there are two main types of portfolios. They can either be physical or online. Online portfolios have more opportunities to include materials to help showcase yourself, such as music, pictures, or videos. There are various ways to organize each one, and I’m excited to learn which type of portfolio we will be making this semester.

I thought that the articles were extremely interesting as well. I believe that storytelling is innate to humans, I just think that how we tell stories differs from person to person. You can tell a lot about someone from the way they tell stories, so I can see where storytelling as a child affects our later personalities. Storytelling is a way to not only socialize but to learn. Making sure that children and people overall have good storytelling interactions is a huge way for us to grow together as a society.