ShayneDaddy

Yeah, I mean, I feel like $20k is a lot of money, but when I look back on it, I don't think it really made up for anything.

Everyone's juvenile records were all erased, however I met a kid in the detention center that I wound up hanging out with afterwards. We did get into adult trouble together about a year after I got out. Bumpy start to adulthood. Used most of my settlement to repay restitution and court costs for adult problems.

Since then I've turned my shit around. Own a business, father of two kids, ran for mayor, lost, do a lot of volunteer work, run lots of community events. Deep down, I think those places had both positive and negative effects on me.

I've probably watched Talladega nights way too many times.

We stopped at McDonalds. Lol. It was about 8 months since I last had fast food.

I also met my now Stepdad on the ride home.

I don't remember asking any other kids what they did until I was in the last place I was in. It was a really strict place with intense therapy groups and pretty bad physical punishment for the kids. (Staff broke a kids arm and gave another rug burn from head to toe for an escape attempt.)

In a Balanced And Restorative Justice group one day, we went around and said what we were there for. Kids were saying drugs, theft, robbery... The kid before me says he forgot his gun at someone's house so he went to go get it and brought his other gun, and when he got pulled over by the cops he forgot a third gun was under his seat so he was arrested for having two of his three guns on him.

I said "I told my teacher my dad would fire her..." Lol.

I really liked a lot of the staff. Like anywhere, you have dicks and genuinely good people.

Some staff went out of their way to be personal with the kids. Share life experiences, get to know them, give advice, etc...

For clarification I was in four different places. With four drastically different methods to their systems. One was a very not strict bland type of detention center with cells where the kids wore provided sweatsuits and followed a schedule for the day. I remember nothing significant of the staff there.

Another was a very laid back place with more of a home atmosphere aside from the locked doors and fences. The staff there were generally nice and took the time to get to know the kids. This was also a VERY new facility when I went there. I was probably the 12th kid ever sent there.

One was an INSANELY nice place from the outside, with a pond, bicycles, riding paths, gym equipment, etc... Got there and found out it was all broken or no longer allowed. Lol. Most staff there were seasoned vets. Mostly irritable. Some were decent, but a majority of them had been doing it for so long and didn't care to get to know the kids anymore since the place held a few hundred and staff usually juggled around.

The last place was very strict. I got cocky about pushing in my chair silently one time and wound up being restrained on the floor for about three hours.

Shift change came and they literally switched out. I only struggled for about 10 minutes of it. They screamed in my face and I pretty much cried the whole time.

It's fucked up, but I feel like that last place kinda helped me a lot.

I wasn't cocky again after that. Lots of yes sir, no sir out of my mouth. After that, the place got investigated from kids being hurt.

One staff member in one of the lighter places would bring in his guitar and teach us. Another brought his xbox and played with us. I really liked when it felt more like a big brother or sister rather than a staff/inmate.

Hahaha. I don't remember what I ordered, but that's definitely how I like to imagine Jesus.