The challenges of life sometimes keep us from doing the things we really like to do. Or, at the very least, they become great excuses.

     Life had all come together for us. Good job, decent place to live and daily smiles that were the icing on the cake. Maybe on that day after memorial day, there was some mystical force that needed to give me a wake-up call. Maybe it was another step toward my destiny that I didn't expect.

    Imagine walking down a dark sidewalk at night, and having someone step out of a hidden alcove and puch you really hard when you least expected it. If I was expecting it, I would have been better prepared, but instead I took that June 1st day for granted. I never would have expected that at 6:00 a.m. we would have been called into a meeting, and at 6:10, all 15 of us would be without a job. To have your employer close his business with no notice is not unlike that man hiding in the dark alcove.

     One would say, "so what will you do?"

     Having been homeless only one year earlier, I had become hardened to the realities of the blows that life often deals us. I have learned that when that man steps out and throws the punch, I let myself go with the punch. That is, just long enough to shake it off, regroup, and let go a few punches of my own. Being knocked down only hurts if you stay down. But, when you get back up, and smile, and know that you are as wise as your years, it is then that you know that you will win once again.

     I don't like to lose!

     My writing has been at a stand-still, yet I feel accomplished. In four months I will have accomplished my Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice. In January, I will begin the Masters program. I am trying to get work now helping out young juvenile offenders. Professors are sending letters to help me. It has been my decision that I want to help people find their own paths, but to work with them and give them the tools they need to deal with all they may encounter, no matter how difficult things may seem. A martial artist once said, "Learn to help people if you want to be great, to hurt people is easy."

     It's good to be back. I will try to catch up on all that my friends here have written. In the mean time, keep driving forward. Be healthy. Be happy. Be safe!