Dear Friends, I have been voluntarily speaking at Juvenile Hall for a few years now, speaking each week to a different unit.
I have seen some of you quite a few times and other I only see once, but I pray for each one of you and think of you often.
I am an mother and grandmother and I am sad to see so many of you making choices that take you away from reaching your potential, so I spend a lot of time creating programs to help you realize your many possibilities for a GOOD life! I want to see you get out of Juvenile Hall and never come back! You may have had troubled parents or you were given bad information or maybe someone did bad things to you.
It may be that no one ever recognized the things you were good at and didn't give you the opportunities to find out what your gifts and talents were.
It may be that you had no one to give you the love you deserved.
Maybe you had to raise yourself.
Life may have been hard for you with disabilities like learning problems or physical problems, and you didn't get the help you needed.
You may have chosen the wrong friend or maybe you just chose rebellion.
For whatever reason, only you know.
You may have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Whatever the reason, I truly believe you can still salvage your life and create a better and happier life for yourself.
You will spend a lot of time locked in your room.
You can fill your time with hateful thoughts and learn more ways to continue the lifestyle that got you here or you can use this time as an opportunity to make changes in your life for the better.
I want to suggest some things for you to think about while you are here.
Our minds are amazing; if your mind is filled with positive thoughts, it cannot be filled with negative thoughts.
Even though you are locked up, you still have freedom over your own thoughts.
So here are some positive ideas for you to think about while you are putting in your time! I believe you were born with great potential.
You just may not know it yet.
You have the potential to do great things with your life.
And believe it or not, your being here in Juvenile Hall can be a blessing to you, because you are now forced to look at where you are headed with your life and now have the opportunity to make a change.
(Some of your friends won't have that chance).
If you could really see who you can become, you would do everything possible to become that person.
You also have one freedom that can never be taken away from you and that is the freedom to make choices and determine your attitude in any circumstance.
While you are here, choose a positive attitude for growth! Juvenile hall is a place where you can try to make up for some of the things you have done that may have hurt other people.
You are now paying the price for the wrongs you have done and when you leave Juvenile Hall or any other facility, you will be free to start over, but the people you have hurt may still be suffering.
If you could find some way to make it right with them you would then be set free in your own mind.
You could write letters to ask for forgiveness or plan for ways to make it right with them when you get out and, above all, you can choose to never do those things again.
Prayer can help lead you toward the things you should do.
You can also try to find a way to forgive the people who have hurt you, because anger and resentment hurt YOU the most and stop your personal growth.
You do have potential! You were born with gifts and talents, intelligence and abilities, a life purpose and a life mission.
You are important and you have something important to do with your life.
Find a way to develop your gifts and talents.
Go to school; educate yourself and work hard at whatever work you have to do.
Do your best at everything you do.
Motive yourself to become the best you can be, despite what has happened so far.
Get excited about your future.
Start living your dreams! The most important thing you must do is to give up the things, which got you on the wrong track.
For example: drugs, alcohol, guns, bad friends, dishonestly, not going to school, being lazy, taking the easy way out, disobedience, rebellion, bad attitudes, and not respecting yourself enough to do the things that give you personal pride.
A few of you will end up in prison and in there you will have to fight some of these things too.
No matter what your future your goal should always be to have respect for yourself - to work toward being pure and clean, inside, so you can have the freedom of knowing that God knows your are doing your best.
These are a lot of things to work on, but if you make goals and work to accomplish the first one, then the next one will become easier.
If you are persistent, you will discover that life will become easier and better as you overcome each obstacle.
Life will always have problems but overcoming your problems and having accomplishments is what gives you self-esteem.
Finally, whether you are confined for a long time or get your freedom soon, I suggest that you get involved with a church where you can find a support system - people who will care about you and want to help you.
I have personally found that my strength to endure tough times has come from the Lord.
Learn to have love and compassion for yourself and for others.
Helping others is a proven way to help you feel better about yourself and to find happiness.
Doing good in the world is the best way to find happiness, no matter what your circumstances.
I spoke to inmates from Donovan Prison who came to Juvenile Hall to talk to the kids.
They dedicate their lives to trying to keep kids, in Juvenile Hall, from going on to prison.
They said the reason they do this is because they found the Lord in their life and are now trying to make up for the mistakes they have made.
These men have found a way to give their life meaning and, as a result, even those they are locked up, they have a level of happiness and contentment because they are helping others.
You see, I believe that each one of you is a child of God and He sent you here for a good purpose.
If you are on the wrong track and have made some bad mistakes, he loves you anyway.
He doesn't like what you have done, but he loves you, and with his help you can get back on the right track, and live the kind of life that can bring you joy and happiness.
Love, Eva Fry May God bless you and be with you as you make your way back to the person you were meant to be.
You can be a winner in life! Love Eva Fry