https://padlet.com/3734341/bbeuk0lsw5e6gbx9 About a young woman's life from gangs and violence to helping her community en-us 2022-11-16 17:41:35 UTC 2025-11-13 22:50:04 UTC hello@padlet.com 3734341 https://padlet.com/3734341/bbeuk0lsw5e6gbx9/wish/2388629073 Mona Has never really been in a safe environment at any time in her life. But it really started when she was young for example “He (Mona’s Dad) knew that our blue-collar neighborhood would eventually throw challenges at me, so he taught me how to protect myself, how to throw a punch”. When she eventually got into high school that's when she really started to get into gangs for example “There was no way to avoid ass-whooping. I knew all I could do was keep my hands and forearms up over my face and head and maybe try to crouch a little to protect my chest and stomach. I had to be sure, too, to keep my feet. If you hit the ground you could get stomped, and that was the quickest way to end up in the hospital”.]]> 2022-11-17 16:50:21 UTC https://padlet.com/3734341/bbeuk0lsw5e6gbx9/wish/2388629073 3734341 https://padlet.com/3734341/bbeuk0lsw5e6gbx9/wish/2388630728 Mona was always looked at as the one who had a chance to make it and become something great but once she got into gangs and became pregnant everything changed she didn't just disappoint her parents but also Billy for example  “You are, aren't you? I know you're pregnant. His (Billy) voice was building as he spun and began pacing “Damn, you stupid girl, you are, aren’t you? Shit! I knew it.” But worst of all she greatly disappointed her parents “”I’m pregnant. Frank and I are getting married. I’m sorry” My mom began scolding me. “Well I knew it, I just knew all along, I was wondering when you were going to tell us!” She didn’t really sound all that ad , but I wasn't looking at her anyways. My eyes were on my father’s face, waiting for him to speak or even look at me. Finally the words rumble out of his throat in a spiteful growl. “You have ruined your life” he said, raising his eyes and staring a hole through me “you are giving your life over to trash. Now you are trash. The police department, you think they will look twice at someone married to that pachuco?” He has other women, too, and their children! You are a fool””]]> 2022-11-17 16:51:23 UTC https://padlet.com/3734341/bbeuk0lsw5e6gbx9/wish/2388630728 3734341 https://padlet.com/3734341/bbeuk0lsw5e6gbx9/wish/2388634852 There were many points in Mona's life where she was scared but the most happened with Frank for example “He was really out of control this time, like a rabid dog. I couldn’t let him get to me. If he did I had no doubt that I would be making a trip to the hospital, if not the morgue.” He would do these types of things all the time and she would even tell Mona sometimes that he was going to kill her and she believed him.There were many points in Mona's life where she was scared but the most happened with Frank for example “He was really out of control this time, like a rabid dog. I couldn’t let him get to me. If he did I had no doubt that I would be making a trip to the hospital, if not the morgue.” He would do these types of things all the time and she would even tell Mona sometimes that he was going to kill her and she believed him. There where many times where he would beat Mona for silly reasons like this one he beat her because she got a job because he wasn't supporting the family ““This isn’t about you Frank, I'm sure you could provide for your family if you didn’t have to support so many damn drug dealers,  bartenders and whores, too” I immediately regretted it, but before I could take back what I had said, Frank was on me. His fist landed right under my chin and I landed on the dining room table. He pinned me there with a hand on my throat and punched me twice in the left eye with two quick hard jabs”]]> 2022-11-17 16:53:54 UTC https://padlet.com/3734341/bbeuk0lsw5e6gbx9/wish/2388634852 3734341 https://padlet.com/3734341/bbeuk0lsw5e6gbx9/wish/2388640831 Mona didn't really fear death because it was always a part of her life because she was in a gang and lived in a gang city. People died left and right. But this one incident really made Mona question death “I saw a gun and the flash. A shotgun, he’s got a shotgun, my mind went shouted at me. Paboom, paboom. The world had turned into a stop-action, like someone had turned on a strobe light. I dove for the ground, my arms and legs moving like I was water. On the way down, I distinctly felt a sharp breeze tug my hair back away from my shoulder just as a searching slash of pain made me gasp and grab at the side of my neck” This incident wasn't like the others for Mona this one shook her. The bullet that flew by her was millimeters away from killing her. that same bullet killed the person behind her. At funerals Mona didn't really feel any emotions because they happened so often but this one was different that could have easily been her in the casket.

]]> 2022-11-17 16:55:42 UTC https://padlet.com/3734341/bbeuk0lsw5e6gbx9/wish/2388640831 3734341 https://padlet.com/3734341/bbeuk0lsw5e6gbx9/wish/2388642521 Once Mona was able to get away from frank and the gangs she joined a college and started taking a could classes. She eventually enrolled into a police academy. Once she graduated from the academy she then would go on ride alongs and she got assigned this one officer nicknamed The Godfather. He was known for being the best and most visceral cop. If you got his approval that means you are going to be a fantastic cop so that's exactly what Mona did.““It take most cops five years to learn what you already know about the streets”, The godfather said, pointing through the smoke towards the storefront passing by his window “You’ll be fine”” “The stamp of approval from The Godfather carried a lot of weight around the station. Probably more than any other single event, his blessing changed the way other cops viewed me, especially the old-timers”. Once she was done with her ride alongs she then started doing ghost rides. She didn't pass her first one but she did her second  “I passed my second ghost ride with The Commander out of the patrol car” ]]> 2022-11-17 16:56:35 UTC https://padlet.com/3734341/bbeuk0lsw5e6gbx9/wish/2388642521