My Name is Anteyon Rolland Russell

December 19, 2013 - Uncategorized

My name is Anteyon Rolan Russell. I was born February 22, 1995 in Elkhart, Indiana, but raised in a small Michigan town named Dowagiac.

I am the youngest of 3 sons, we are all a year or two apart from one another in age, so growing up we pretty much entertained each other whenever we could. We have also had times when we had disagreements and conflict.

My mother and father separated when I was still a baby, when I was five my mother remarried but my father would continue to pick up me and my brothers to spend weekends with him. Other times he would just pick us up to visit whenever he had the opportunity. Because my brothers remember our dad being around when they were younger, they absolutely resented the fact of having another man around the house or telling us what to do. Their rebellious attitude toward the man my mother remarried, sooner than later started to rub off on me and I too started resenting the fact of having him around.

I enjoyed going to school, I had a few friends there and the work was very easy to me. Unlike most kids, I would always pay attention, sometimes I would feel out of place in class because I would be the only one answering questions like I knew all the answers. My enthusiasm to learn was evident based on my report cards. I was an honor student all the way up to the 7th grade. During this time I was dealing with self, I wanted to fit in. I couldn’t cope with the fact of being alone. Nobody in my neighborhood would accept me, because I was a “school boy” or a “nerd”.

I couldn’t even hang out with my own brothers because they were hanging out with the “cool” kids and they didn’t want to ruin their reputation by hanging out with a “lame” with them. Eventually I started engaging in activities I usually wouldn’t engage in, and became addicted to that way of life.

I used to always daydream about being a professional football player. Anyone who asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up all got the same answer, a professional football player. I started playing football at the age of 9 when my mom signed me up for rocket football. At first I was reluctant about playing, but eventually started to realize I was falling in love with the sport. Being athletic was second nature to me. Sometimes I felt like I was born just to play football. I continued to play up to my 10th grade (sophomore) year.

I was smoking and drinking worse than I was when I started in the 7th grade, and I couldn’t keep my grades up because I was always skipping school. Thus, I was ineligible to play. Eventually I ended up dropping out. Football was the only reason I went to school, son once I destroyed that, I just did not care anymore. My first run in with law enforcement was in 2010. I was charged with resisting and obstructing a police officer, minor in possession (of alcohol), and curfew violation. I was sentenced to probation and 30 days of home detention. That same year I caught an unarmed robbery charge and went to a juvenile detention home for a few months. Seven months after I got off probation I was charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery and sentenced to 5-30 years in prison. I was 17 years old.

Coming to the penitentiary has opened my eyes and has allowed me to see that this in not the way I want to continue living my life. It’s time to change, and do what’s right for me. I no longer care about what others think of me. I got my GED and would like to continue pursuing further education. My goal while in prison is to achieve an associates degree. I would like to major in psychology, because when I go home I would like to be some sort of counselor that helps lead the youth away from making the same mistakes I did.

Thank you for your time and reading my letter with an open mind.

Sincerely,
Anteyon Russell