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Sometimes I wonder: What would I do without the powerful and steadfast example of my rock-star mother? 

Aside from the fact that our relationship has blossomed through the years, she is the one who led the way to my enlightenment by being the best type of teacher. She reads books like Iyanla Vanzant’s “In the Meantime,” Dr. Joseph Murphy’s, “The Power of Your Subconscious Mind,” Emmet Fox’s, “The Sermon on the Mount,” and sends them to me in prison. We sincerely discuss our opinions of each book, and our interpretations intertwine as we soak up the wisdom we have received. 

I told my cellmate, “Hands down, the only reason for my sunny disposition and level of understanding is 100% due to the dedication of such an amazing woman, inspiring guru and terrific teacher.” 

The most recent example of her superpowers came during the summer of 2021, when I was met with bitter disappointment while registering for school. All three summer school classes Coastline Community College (CCC) offered were full. And one of those classes, mass communication, just so happens to be a requirement for graduation. Not only was it not offered the past year-and-a-half, it was off the school roster for fall 2021. 

For the first time, I enlisted my mom to help me register. The only way to get added to a class roster after the semester starts is if the teacher chooses to add a student. So my mom emailed the three teachers at the start of the semester for the sociology, mass communications and philosophy classes.

I called my mom and she said the email to the sociology teacher came back with only one reply: “No.” I chalked it up as another loss, but thanked her for trying. Sunday came and she had good news: The philosophy teacher said yes. She then gave me the code to add the class and the section number to register. 

There was no word from mass communications, the one I desperately needed. She called the school, and told me to get in touch with her afterward. When I called her, she told me a story that represents why she’s a true student of the law of attraction — the idea that positive thoughts bring positive results and negative thoughts bring negative results.

When she had called the registration department at CCC, she spoke with a lady who was “unhelpful” and “irritated.” My mom was told by this operator that if the professor has not replied then there is nothing they can do. My mom, never let down by first tries, persevered. She told me how she imagined calling again and receiving better news — she used positive thoughts to hopefully bring positive results. 

Then she called back and, this time, received a different operator for the school. She said right away she knew good would come because this new lady had a very “bright outlook” and was “extremely outgoing and friendly.” The kind lady told my mom not to worry and that her son would be in the class, as she knew who the teacher was. My mom hung up the phone feeling successful. Not even 10 minutes went by before her phone was vibrating with a message. It was an email from the mass communications teacher including the add code for the class, and a note to let her son know he was enrolled. 

As I stated before, a long-time advocate of the law of attraction, my mom used positive thoughts to bring about positive results.

Disclaimer: The views in this article are those of the author. Prison Journalism Project has verified the writer’s identity and basic facts such as the names of institutions mentioned.

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C.R. Addleman

C.R. Addleman is a writer incarcerated at Centinela State Prison in California.