Take a Chance on Yourself

Jun 1, 2025

Written By Pearce Wagener

I came from a place of deep darkness. Things felt hopeless. I felt hopeless. Violence surrounded me in my home and outside the house. The feeling of oppression kept me down so that I couldn’t move. I finally exploded in violence, landed in prison, and rightly so.

By the grace of God, and little by little, I turned my life around. Rather than take chances with other people’s lives, I took a chance on myself. (You have to learn to love yourself first.)

I had some setbacks, but also many successes. They were small at first. Those small successes gave me room to build and grow. My change did not happen over night, but the difference is as obvious as night and day.

Pearce Wagener
V77330 / D16-A203-2L
P. O. Box 409089
Ione, CA 95640

Explore More Stories of Healing

The Power of Art Therapy

The Power of Art Therapy

I've always loved coloring since I was a child. I can remember coloring any cartoon-themed coloring book that was available, especially the Care Bears themed ones. Whatever sadness I felt at the time was forgotten while coloring. Decades later—in my Art Therapy...

read more
Beneath the Masks

Beneath the Masks

Before I came to prison, and for sometime in prison, I was afraid. The reason for my fear was that I haven’t matured yet. My low self-esteem as as child and my lack of confidence left me vulnerable, feeling withdrawn and repressed. So I ran from my problems and the...

read more
True Narrative

True Narrative

As children sometimes we were taught by people that were broken themselves. So we adopted their ways and narratives that were not truly our own. Being told I was worthless, stupid, that I would always be a failure left me believing I was. I believed it and it...

read more

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *