Why I chose Criminal Justice

I guess you could say criminal justice is somewhat in my blood. My father used to be a deputy for the Jefferson County police years ago. He later became a correctional officer at the federal prison in Tallahassee. My uncle (his brother) is also a deputy in Jefferson County. His son just took a job at the prison in Monticello as well. A lot of the cops in Monticello whent to school with my dad and uncle so they are all friends. One of them is even my godfather. And quite a few came to the hospital to see me when I was born. I don't get pulled over much, but when I do I always get a warning and a call to my uncle and dad to tell them what I had done. Its kind of a double edged sword. But needless to say, I pretty much grew up around law enforcement.

But I have no interest in becoming a cop. I would like to be a homicide detective. Most people would take one look at me and think I could not do it. Maybe they think I will be too girly and will not be able to handle a career like that. But what they don't know is that a homicide detective is what I have always wanted to be. It is just something that has always held my interest. I have always loved reading and watching everything I could about Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, and Ed Gein. My dream has always been to have the opportunity to work on a case like these. Maybe this makes me seem like a strange person, but that's just something that has always tickled my curiosity. Why not have a career that interests you and is interesting?

The criminal justice field has many benefits. There will always be job security. There will always be people dying and there will always be people messing up. This is not a career that I will get rich off of, that's for sure. But it is something that I enjoy learning about and sparks my interest. I am glad I took the steps to this career by enrolling in the program at ITT Tech.

Right after high school graduation I started college at North Florida Community College. I hated that school. It did not even offer Criminal Justice so I felt like I was wasting my time and money there at a school that I could not stand. So after a year I took a break. This break lasted much longer than I had planned. I then began talking to an old friend from high school (he is now in my Thursday night comp class as well). We started talking about school and what we had been up to and he told me about how he started school at ITT Tech and how much he loves it there. He said they have a criminal justice program and encouraged me to check it out. I took his advice.

I started my first semester in March. I immediately fell in love with the school. I really liked my teachers and the way things were done. I made some new friends and actually enjoyed going to school three nights a week. I look forward to it. This is something that is really out of character for me. I have never been one for scholastics. But coming to this school has helped me out a lot and I am really glad that I allowed my friend to convince me to enroll. If that had not happened I know I would not be in school anywhere now. So I owe him a lot. I love my school and I love criminal justice and I am so ready and excited to get my career started!

My Literary History

I remember when I was younger my mother used to read to me before bed. She would read to me from her collection of Little house on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, as well as some other books of my choice. I always loved when she would read my fairy tales and Dr. Seuss. But my grandmother was always the one encouraging me to read. She always bought me books and would read to me. She also got me my first library card. My grandmother would take me to the library with her once a week so I could go into the children's room where they would have story time as well as puppet shows, fun activities like craft making, and lots of children's books. I was always allowed to pick out books to bring home so we could read them. I would lie on the living room carpet in my grandmother's house and look at the same books over and over again. I adored them.

But then as I got older I started to hate reading. I think it stemmed from all the book reports that were assigned. I hated doing book reports. I think it took the fun out of reading. Reading was no longer a good experience, but it had turned into work. I hated having to read a book, then write about it, then present it to the class, and then get graded for it. After a while it seemed like the only time I read anything was when it was assigned to me. I would read the newspaper or magazines, but I hated reading books. I would avoid it at all costs. I just didn't enjoy it anymore. And then Twilight hit.

When I heard about this saga a while back I was curious about what all the hype was about. So I picked the book up and was sucked back into the excitement of reading. I remembered how wonderful it could be and I absolutely couldn't put the books down. I read them all three times over and enjoyed them every time. I now look for new books to read and I love reading whenever I have a spare moment. I can honestly say that Twilight inspired me and definately is the reason for my reawakening to the literary world.

When I was younger I used to keep a diary. I would write about the normal things an eleven year old girl would. Simple things, like what happened at school that day, things I was looking forward to, and boy bands. But in the more recent years my writing has changed a lot. I write a lot about my personal beliefs, morals, opinions, convictions, and views on the world around me. When I write I say what I honestly think about the subject without being interrupted or judged. I write for myself. I truely enjoy it. Theres something so freeing about just being able to say what you feel about any subject you choose, and just being able to speak your mind and get everything out on paper. I write whenever inspiration hits, or whenever something is really weighing heavy on my heart.