Bad decisions don't a prison make...

I don't know if I've ever come right out and given my age on this blog, but I'm thirty-three.  I decided twenty-one years ago what I wanted in life.  It was pretty simple: out of the county I was born in, the county that refused to investigate my claims against my male genetic donor; off of government assistance of all types; and comfortable in a home of my own.

I have achieved all of my goals, and then some.  I've set new ones, achieved some of those, and discarded others (like gaining a PhD--which I've decided I really didn't want).

My oldest child is four.  My youngest is two.  My husband (a man I've been with for almost fifteen years--half of that married) and I own our house and our cars outright, with no consumer debt on anything.

If that were not the case, things would be a lot harder. 

My sister, on the other hand...has never sat down and tried to figure out what she wants out of life.  All she's done is decide that she's been defeated by her experiences, and to accept what she's handed by the government.  She still lives at home, in much the same situation as she was in in high school: hiding in her room in the dark, listening to music.  Sometimes reading.

She doesn't have a high school diploma, but I'm pretty certain that, should she take the test tomorrow, she'd have more than enough base knowledge to get her GED.  She has as much raw intelligence as I do, and I'm pretty sure if she simply applied it, she could get out of the trap she's in. 

As I write this, she's thirty years old, and going nowhere.

My neighbors, the ones I've been writing about, are working to get out of the bad situation they're in. Both are younger than my sister.  Yes, there are several children involved, which make things significantly more difficult; however, they haven't given up, and don't plan to.

They've had some good news, just today, news that lifted his spirits and renewed his determination.  I'm pretty sure that he's probably going to have a job, despite the back issues, within a week.  She's applying for temporary help, and has several job applications, including for the same gas station/sub sandwich bar/pizza place my husband works at.

I have no doubt that they'll be out of the hole they're in before the end of the year. 

Bad decisions, bad temporary situations, or refusing to make one at all and hiding in the dark, do not a prison make.  Not unless the individual in question decides that it does.