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My name is Alexander Garcia Brown. I am sixteen years old and have been at Texas ChalleNGe Academy for a little over four months.
Before coming to TCA, I was acting as if I were already grown. I had anger issues. I was taking and selling drugs, holding guns, and getting questioned by the police. I had a pretty bad father figure, and it caused a lot of problems with my mom. I threw my relationship with my father in her face all the time and showed constant disrespect toward her.
I was going down the wrong path that would lead me to jail or death, so my mom sent me to TCA to get back on track. At first I hated it. I hated getting told what to do and constantly getting corrected. I was actually on the brink of getting dismissed because of my actions here.
Eventually, one person, Cadre Supervisor Vela, got me to change course. She took me out of the gym and practically threw me into a chair in her office. We had a screaming match, but at the end, it became a real heart to heart talk. She gave me one more chance to get squared away, and I didn’t waste it.
I got used to waking up before the sun rises, making my bed to standard, folding my clothes, taking timed showers, and keeping my mouth shut. All of these helped me get back on track.
School started and so far I have earned 3.5 credits these past four months. I dropped out of school in the 10th grade, so the school is helping me to get back on track and be on grade level. The teachers have helped me and Mrs. Tice gives us the opportunity to go to the library so I have books to read in my spare time.
Mrs. Kennedy, my life skills teacher, has taught me skills to use when I am an adult and helped me learn to regulate my emotions better.
All in all TCA has been a really good fit for me. I have learned to surround myself with positivity rather than negativity. Personally, I am ready to see what life brings me in the future.
