ellow shoes in a sea of sunflowers. A woman once certain she was untouchable now knows her truest strength is in standing still long enough to grow.
Casandra will tell you she made terrible choices. She doesn’t sugarcoat it. But the truth is, she started life at a starting line miles behind most.
Raised by a single mother lost in alcohol and drugs, no one cared where she went or what she did. By fourteen, the streets became her home. Weed deals turned to crack sales. Nights blurred with PCP and liquor. She felt untouchable—until the day she wasn’t.
Federal charges. Ten years in prison. A sentence that could either break her or build her.
The Turning Point
Inside, Casandra signed up for everything she could. Culinary arts. Knitting. Forklift certification. College courses. But the hardest part wasn’t the cell walls—it was knowing her two small children were being raised by the same woman who had raised her.
So she sent bookmarks she’d made in prison, tiny lifelines of love stitched into paper and thread.
Oddly, prison gave her what life never had before—space. “I still miss it sometimes,” she admits quietly. “In there, I was away from all the drama. I could finally become the person I am now.”
Life After Release
The woman who walked out after 120 months was nothing like the one who’d walked in. “Before prison, I was selfish. Now I’m a better mom. A better human being.”
Freedom wasn’t easy. As a single mother with a felony record, she worked night shifts, took hard labor jobs, and raised teenagers on grit and grace. Slowly, she rebuilt. Today, she’s a homeowner, a manager, and the proud mom of a college student.
Her advice is simple and profound:
“Use your time to learn who you are.”
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