Hi, my name’s Leah but my friends call me Lee or B.B., which stands for Blind Bitch. In March 2024, I completed a program called Mates for Inmates. It was a program where we had dogs that came in from the Lord Smith’s Dog Home that needed to be retrained so they could be rehomed to those looking to adopt a dog so they can eventually find their forever home. Also part of this program was working on ourselves. To end our program, we had to submit a short essay or poem of our choice, as long as it had something to do with working to better ourselves. What I share with you today is something that I wrote for the program, but I felt that I needed to share this piece with you:

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All I ever wanted was to be given a chance.

A chance to be loved.

A chance to love.

To be given a chance to have belief, you have to be believed in.

To have a chance you have to forgive and be forgiven.

One day, I hope I can forgive myself, believe in myself and love myself,

So that I accept others to love me, believe in me and forgive me.

So that I can be given a second chance.