Brianna's Story
photography by Sarah Fleming for the Juvenile Project
“I've been losing faith I guess since all this tragedy just happened to my family. It's crazy. Everything is so perfect one day and then just the next day it all falls apart.”
When Brianna was 17, she was in a car with some older friends when the police pulled them over and found marijuana. Everyone in the car was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance. She was a senior in high school at the time, getting ready for prom. She had a one year-old daughter, and soon after the arrest, she became pregnant with her second child. While she had attended the first court date with her mother, her pregnancy was progressing, so she missed her next court date, and she stopped coming to court.
When her son was three weeks old, he died in his sleep from complications with his breathing. That morning, when she called 911 about the baby, her name came up in the system that juvenile court had a warrant out for her arrest. The ambulance came, and the police came, and they arrested her and took her to an adult detention facility, because by this point she was 18 years old. Over the next few days, they kept her isolated and on suicide watch.
Around the time that Brianna graduated from high school, her 27 year-old sister died from complications with her pregnancy, leaving four daughters behind. Brianna is now 19 years old, and she lives with her mother, her daughter, her mother’s youngest son, and her four nieces. She says, “I talk to my mom because she knows how it feels to lose a child, so we connect on that level.”
Interview with Brianna, conducted by Joann Self Selvidge for The Juvenile Project (TJP) on April 20, 2017 in Memphis, TN.
Joann: I don't really know as much about your story other than just a little brief note that Miss Keva gave me. Let's just start out with a little bit of background. Tell me your name. Oh, you can use your first and last name if you want to or you can just use your first name and how old you are.
Brianna: Okay. You want me to say it now? My name is Brianna. I'm 19.
Joann: Okay. Tell me a little about your background. Like where you grew up and what kind of home life you had when you were growing up, where you were living, stuff like that.
Brianna: I grew up in this neighborhood. Around the corner, though, because this is my grandmother's house. We moved a couple of times. Near like Germantown and stuff. Then I was staying out there. Ever since I've been probably 16 we came back down here. My life was just a normal life. Good childhood and stuff.
Joann: Yeah?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Joann: Where did you go to high school?
Brianna: I went to high school at Oak Haven. Oak Haven High School. Then I transferred here to Woodhaven High School. Then when I got pregnant with my first baby I went to a school for teen mothers. Me and my baby went to school together. She was downstairs in the daycare and I was upstairs in school.
Joann: How old were you?
Brianna: I was 16.
Joann: You said you got pregnant with your first child. You've got other children?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Joann: Okay. Tell me about your pregnancies and your children.
Brianna: My first pregnancy I was 16 when I got pregnant. I had her at 17. Her name is Linda. She's one now. My pregnancy was kind of new. It was new. I'd never been pregnant so I didn't know how to feel. I wasn't scared or anything because I have little cousins and nieces. I already knew I was going to be a good mother. I was going to know how to take care of my baby.
I got pregnant with my son actually a year later. My baby, she wasn't even a year yet when I got pregnant. I got pregnant with him in 2015. 2016. Yeah, 2016. I got pregnant with him when I was 17. I had him when I was 18. It was just the same. I hated being fat. I couldn't wait to have him. It was nice when we was just small. We could walk and be pretty. When I started getting big, face started swelling, I was just ready to ... I liked to hide in the house when I got that big. I'm staying in the house. I want no pictures. Nothing.
I had him. I was actually in labor for ... It just went by like this. The doctor couldn't even come in the room. He just popped out of me. I was, "Yes, Lord. Thank you." When I had my daughter, I didn't feel any pain at all. I was actually in labor for six hours. I didn't feel anything. With my son, I was hurting so bad. I was just ready for him to go. I didn't even have to push. He just came on out. I was so excited. Can I show you a picture of him?
Joann: Yeah.
Brianna: Yeah, he passed away when he was three weeks from a ... I can't talk about it. See, I don't usually talk about him. I think I'm weak because every time I bring him up I cry. I just haven't come to terms with him passing. He was just three weeks old. I'm trying to get past it. He was my son. Yeah, just four months before him, my big sister she passed away. Yeah, it's hard.
Every time I bring it up I cry. That part of my life, I cry. I guess I'm weak. I just can't get over it. I know I have time for this but I just don't talk about it. When I do I cry so I really think I'm weak. I should be able to at least deal with it and talk about him without having to cry.
Joann: It doesn't mean you're weak. It means you're grieving.
Brianna: Yeah, she was my oldest sister. She was 27. She was supposed to be 27. Her birthday was August. She passed away on my graduation. I was graduating from high school. July 23rd. I was also pregnant with my son. She was pregnant with her first son too. Yeah, I lost both of them. My nephew and my sister. My son, his name was Landon. This is him.
Joann: What happened?
Brianna: Like days before he was having problems breathing. It seemed like he was having problems breathing. He had a cold or something. I took him to his pediatrician. They told me he was healthy and stuff. I was like, "I don't know. I don't like the way he's breathing." The sound he's making.
My daughter, she actually almost passed away too when she was three months from bronchitis. She had to be in the hospital for a week because she was on a breathing machine and stuff like that. He was just only three weeks. If I would have taken him to a hospital my mom said there was nothing they could do for him.
I took him to the pediatrician. They also said he was healthy and stuff. Me and his dad we put him in the bed with us. We lay him on his stomach and stuff. The next morning I woke up and I asked him to check on the baby and he was like, he don't think the baby is breathing. I'm actually still waiting on his results from the autopsy to come back to see what happened to him. They said it could take like six months. It could take a while.
Joann: When did this happen?
Brianna: This happened November 19th. He was just three weeks.
Joann: So just a few months ago?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Joann: What happened when you found out he wasn't breathing? What did y'all do?
Brianna: At first, I couldn't put it together. Like what was he saying? I instantly grabbed my phone and tried to call 911 but I actually forgot the number. Everything around me was spinning. I was dizzy. When they got there they tried to revive him and stuff and there was nothing they could do... This is my sister, my big sister, who passed away. She left four girls. We all stay here together. We try to be as close as possible.
Joann: What happened to her?
Brianna: She stopped breathing or something. They said it was a blood clot in her foot and it traveled up to her lungs.
Joann: You said you were one of four children?
Brianna: Five, actually. My mom just had a younger son. He's three. Then it's my little sister Jazz. She just turned I think 14. Then me, 19. My sister she just got married. She's 23, 22. Then it's my other sister Britney. She's 27. She would have been 27. She has four girls. They're actually at school now. They'll be getting out at three.
Joann: Tell me a little bit about your interactions with the justice system. When was the first time you ever got in trouble with law enforcement or in school or whatever?
Brianna: My first time getting in trouble I was 17. I was in the car with somebody so it wasn't my fault. I just got mixed up in it being in the car.
Joann: What was the charge? What happened?
Brianna: They had some kind of drugs or something in the car. I didn't know about it. Didn't nobody claim it so everybody in the car they charged with possession to manufacture and deal marijuana. Something like that.
Joann: What did they do? Did they arrest you and take you down? Or did they give you a citation? What happened?
Brianna: Yeah, they arrested me. They went through my purse, my personal belongings. I don't think that was appropriate because I was underage. They took my money and stuff. I was actually a senior. I was getting all my stuff ready for prom and stuff. It was crazy. They actually took me to juvenile court and my mom had to go down there. I think she bailed me out. I don't remember.
Joann: Did you go to court for that?
Brianna: Yeah, I went to court once. Then when I got pregnant and I missed my court date, I stopped coming. I got pregnant with my son and I stopped coming. I had missed my court date. They had a warrant out for my arrest. I used to procrastinate on turning myself in because I was just trying to go to school and do all that extra stuff. I used to just procrastinate on turning myself in.
When my son died, that's when they finally caught up to me. I had to go in jail east after my son died. The same day my son had passed away. They had me on suicide watch and stuff because ... All that.
Joann: You said they caught up to you. How did they catch up to you?
Brianna: They ran my name and they was like I have a warrant for missing court.
Joann: Are you saying that through 911 when they came, when the emergency services people came?
Brianna: I think so.
Joann: The police officer came after that?
Brianna: They actually took us to questioning. The building downtown.
Joann: About your baby?
Brianna: About my baby.
Joann: What was that like?
Brianna: The ambulance said when they got there my baby was already gone. This is why there was nothing they could do. He said, "It's just certain protocol because it's a child. We're not blaming you." I guess they was just trying to figure out what happened and stuff with the baby. When they ran our name, we popped up in the system and stuff.
Joann: You said that you were going to court but then you got pregnant and you didn't do the followup or whatever. When you first went to court did they ever give you any sort of, "This is what you've got to do"? Or you were just still going back and forth?
Brianna: I was still going back and forth.
Joann: Do you remember who your attorney was on that?
Brianna: No, I don't even remember.
Joann: Did you have an attorney?
Brianna: I had a public defender.
Joann: Okay. Tell me about that process? At what point, you got picked up in the car, they took you down to juvenile court. What happens when you get arrested?
Brianna: When they arrested me they actually had me off to the side, searching the car, and stuff. At first, I don't think they even put me in handcuffs. I don't know. I don't remember.
Joann: Did they put you in a holding cell before you were able to talk to anybody? Or did they do an intake process with you?
Brianna: Yeah, they just put me in a holding cell. I didn't get to talk to ... I think I talked to my mom. I don't remember. I remember them getting my paperwork together and stuff, asking me questions, and then my mom came and got me.
Joann: Did you talk to your attorney before you went to court?
Brianna: I think I did. We spoke before we went in. We kind of spoke before we went in.
Joann: Do you remember what your attorney argued for?
Brianna: I really don't remember all that. I know she was saying like I'm in school, I had nothing to do with what was going on in school, I have a child. All that stuff she was saying that.
Joann: Eventually they put out the warrant because you stopped coming to court and then eventually you got arrested?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Joann: Okay. Then what happened? You eventually had to face the charge?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Joann: What basically were they saying that you needed to do? How did you resolve that?
Brianna: They said if I took the charge it would have been off my record in six months if I don't get in trouble. If I want to go against it, go on trial, evidence, witness, and I wasn't really ... I really didn't want to do all that. Keep going to court for that, going on trial. I just went ahead and took it. I know the other people that was in the car, I knew they weren't going to take it. I just wanted that to be over. I just wanted to move on from all that.
Joann: What happened to the other people in the car?
Brianna: I really don't know because their charges ... We had a whole different attorney and all that. They was overage so they went to jail when I went to juvenile court.
Joann: Were you the only person underage in the car?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Joann: You took the plea, you decided to take the charge, so what were the consequences?
Brianna: Consequences were I guess when I'm signing up for a job or something like that it's going to be on my background. I probably fail that part and stuff like that. I have a couple more months to go for it all to be clear off my record. Like it just never happened.
Joann: What did you have to do in order to get it off the record? Did they make you go to a program?
Brianna: Yeah, I'm going to JIFF.
Joann: You mentioned jail east. Did you get there as part of your sentence or whatever? Did you have an official, like a formal, sentence?
Brianna: No. No, I didn't. I went there when I had gotten arrested and I had to go through booking and intake and all that. I was there for like a week. I was there for a couple of days. I went to court.
Joann: That's when your mom was able to get you out?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Joann: That first time. Tell me a little bit about JIFF.
Brianna: JIFF, it's a program based on ... I forgot what it stands for [Juvenile Intervention and Faith-based Follow-up]. They say it all the time. It's dealing with church and stuff like that. Faith and all that. I have been missing it. I haven't been going lately because I haven't been in the spirit. I haven't been in the spirit, so I've been missing days. A lot of days.
Joann: When you say you haven't been in the spirit, why? What do you think?
Brianna: Because it's dealing with all that faith and God and I really haven't been ... I've been losing faith I guess since all this tragedy just happened to my family. It's crazy. Everything is so perfect one day and then just the next day it all falls apart.
Joann: When you were going to the program did they ever bring up any grief or trauma counseling?
Brianna: Yeah, I have a mentor. I guess she helps me on that but I haven't spoken with her. I don't talk to her.
Joann: Did anything good come out of that process?
Brianna: Not really.
Joann: Other than having a mentor and the faith-based stuff, were they doing any other kind of ... Was there any other part of that process or that program?
Brianna: Yeah, it was a nice program because they teach you things about different things you don't know about yourself. They help you find yourself really. It's good too. We do community service. It's really called acts of kindness. Like just do a couple acts of kindness for free. Just to help somebody. It's nice too. It's also nice. They have areas and stuff where you can just cook or play basketball. A game room. It's just a nice place to be. It's really great. It's just I haven't been in the spirit.
Joann: What kind of community service did you do?
Brianna: I actually help my grandma. With her garden. I was like, "Hey, it's an act of kindness. I'm just going to help you plant these little flowers." She signed off and stuff on where I helped her and stuff for how many hours, how long. I did some around the neighborhood. It's a lot of people that I know around here. They're like family within here. I knew 12 people so I just did random stuff for them. That was actually an assignment as I was entering the program. I did the assignment into the program. I also wrote a letter of apology to the courthouse.
Joann: Why did you write a letter of apology to the courthouse?
Brianna: I don't think it was really sent to the courthouse. I don't know. I guess they wanted to see ... It was just an assignment they gave me.
Joann: Were you apologizing for not coming to your court dates basically?
Brianna: Just for really being there, the circumstances, and all that. I guess. It was crazy.
Joann: Other than this one instance where you were in the car and there were drugs in the car and you got arrested, have you ever gotten in trouble with the law for anything else?
Brianna: No.
Joann: Have you ever been suspended from school?
Brianna: Yeah, I've been suspended from school a couple of times. It was for stuff like skipping class or being late. Stuff like that. It was never anything major. That was really like when I was younger because when I got to high school I got serious. I knew the colleges I wanted to go, the GPA I had to have, and stuff like that. I already knew it was serious.
Joann: What are your plans?
Brianna: Are you saying now?
Joann: No, well, tell me what your plans were when you said, "I knew the colleges I wanted to go to and the GPA"?
Brianna: My plans, I really wanted to be a traveling pharmacist when I was coming up to high school. My mom she's a pharmacist. Since I like to move around, I want to travel, so I can just be a travel pharmacist.
Joann: What do they call that? Pharmaceutical rep? They make good money doing that. I have a couple friends who have done that. Salesperson, right?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Joann: Did you have in mind a particular college and path that you wanted to take?
Brianna: Yeah, I actually wanted to go to UT Knoxville. Only because my cousin just begged me to go. I was like, "Okay, I'll go."
Joann: That was in the past tense. Do you not want that anymore?
Brianna: I still want to go to college but I don't want to stay on campus. I want to have my own apartment. I wanted to go to college out of town but I was kind of skeptical because I've got my baby. I just don't trust a lot of people. I wouldn't know where to start to put her in childcare and stuff like that.
Joann: Does she stay with you? Or does she go to daycare yet?
Brianna: No, she doesn't go to daycare. She was actually supposed to enroll Monday but they reached their full capacity. She can't have over a certain amount of kids. Students.
Joann: She's still young, though.
Brianna: She is. She's still young. She'll be two in August.
Joann: Okay. She can stay home with mom?
Brianna: Yeah, she gets to be a little crybaby.
Joann: Are you still with her father?
Brianna: No.
Joann: Is it the same father for both children?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Joann: He's just out of the picture? Where do you stay most days?
Brianna: Yeah, I only really talk to him when it's about my baby. That's about it. We don't talk like that.
Joann: You said this is your grandmother's house. Do you typically live here with your children?
Brianna: This is my mom's house. I live here with my baby. I actually just moved back in just because the family. I can't be away from home long. I had an apartment with my two kids and my child's father. When I lost my baby I just came back home because I don't want to stay in the house anymore.
Joann: Do you have any sort of counselor person that you've been able to talk to?
Brianna: Not really.
Joann: All right.
Brianna: I'm supposed to be going to counseling and grieving counseling but I just feel like it was silly. I didn't want to talk to anybody.
Joann: I can understand that. You say you were supposed to have been going. Is that something because your mom wanted you to go? Or something through JIFF?
Brianna: No, just me, just trying to help myself out. I just felt like it was silly. A couple people suggested it for me but I was just like, "I don't want that. No." I talk to my mom because she knows how it feels to lose a child so we connect on that level. We talk and stuff.
Joann: Your sister, that's the child that she lost?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Joann: It happened right there together, close in time to each other?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Joann: Do you feel like you had any kind of relationship with your attorney other than the times that you talked to her in court?
Brianna: Not really. I had a relationship with Miss Keva.
Joann: Tell me about that.
Brianna: She used to text me stuff. She used to lift me up in my spirit and try to help get me going, giving me a start, texting me what type of jobs are hiring, and stuff like that. It was nice having her around and texting me and stuff, making sure I was okay.
Joann: Do you know what her official role is? What she does?
Brianna: I remember her telling me but I actually forgot. I really forgot.
Joann: She's the social worker for the public defender's office. I think she works really closely with your attorney. It's her job to give you the support.
Brianna: Oh, okay.
Joann: Do you still keep in touch with Keva?
Brianna: I actually lost her number. She told me about you guys like the last time I talked to her. My phone, the screen had blanked out or something, and blinks in and out. I had to get a whole new phone and a number. I don't have that phone anymore. I just recently got rid of it today.
Joann: In terms of that whole, when you think about your experience specifically in juvenile court, juvenile east, what was the hardest part about that whole process?
Brianna: The hardest part was being in jail. I just couldn't cope with the fact ... I had already lost my son. I couldn't get his image, just him, out of my head. I was being isolated. To think about that. I didn't have anybody to talk to. I stayed in my cell 23 hours so I tried my best to just sleep the whole time I was there but I kept having dreams. It was really hard. It was very hard.
Joann: When they had you on suicide watch does that mean you're in solitary?
Brianna: I have no idea. I know they had me in a turtle suit, no clothes. I was freezing. I was just ready to go.
Joann: When you said they had you in a turtle suit what does that mean?
Brianna: They had me in some type of suit ... I don't know. It was crazy. It was a Velcro wrapped around me. It was really big. I had to wear it. It was uncomfortable because I couldn't sleep or anything.
Joann: Did it restrain your arms? What did it do?
Brianna: I don't know. It didn't do anything because it really was falling off me because I was too little. I didn't have no clothes on. I don't even know what was the point of that. If I wanted to commit suicide, I could have done it.
Sarah: It's a special wardrobe for people who are on suicide watch is what it is.
Joann: The turtle suit?
Sarah: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Joann: Okay. You did all this at jail east, right?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Joann: That's where all of this was happening. That was the worst part?
Brianna: The worst part.
Joann: Was there any point in the process where you felt like you were able to talk to anybody and be heard?
Brianna: Not really. I don't think.
Joann: If you had to give some advice to people who were in charge what would you suggest that they do differently?
Brianna: Let's see, what do I suggest? I don't know. I guess finding out facts because some of the stuff just wasn't right. I actually had my baby in the car with me so I had to go through the whole process with Child Services and stuff. It was really hard too.
Joann: The first time you were arrested?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Joann: Tell me what happened with all that. Did they take you down to juvenile court with your child?
Brianna: No, they let me call my mom to come get my baby. My mom came and got my baby. They took me to juvenile court and stuff like that. They assigned the case worker to the case too to come do home visits and see if everything was okay. She actually used to come to my school too and see my baby.
Joann: Who was it?
Brianna: I think her name was ... I don't remember her name.
Joann: Where was she from? She was from Child Services?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative) She was from Child Services.
Joann: Did you have to sign any papers or make arrangements ... I'm assuming that your child came to live with your mom?
Brianna: No, I didn't. When I got arrested, all that week, that's when my son died. Yeah, my baby she was staying with her grandmother on her dad's side. She was just with them. I didn't have to sign any papers saying who has custody of my baby or anything like that. It wasn't that serious.
Joann: That first time when you were just down at juvenile court it was like, "Okay, my mom is going to come get my baby and then I'm going to go and deal with this"?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Joann: Do you have any questions?
Sarah: No. It might just be worth clarifying that jail east is an adult jail? You got taken to jail east because you were 18 when they picked you up?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Sarah: Maybe just a little bit. She was 17 ... Can you pause that for a second?
Brianna: Yeah, even though I was in jail east I still was going to juvenile court.
Sarah: Basically I just want to clarify, even though it was for a crime you committed when you were 17 they were holding you in an adult jail?
Brianna: Correct.
Sarah: Because you were 18?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Joann: Did they explain any of that to you?
Brianna: Nope. They didn't. They just told me I'm 18 and up so I'm going to the jail.
Joann: Okay. Was it ever an option that you ... Do they have women inmates at 201? No, it's just jail east where they house the female inmates. What was it like when you were at jail east? Tell me a little bit about that facility.
Brianna: It was crazy the stuff actually going on. I was actually in a pile with the crazy people. It was just crazy.
Joann: What do you mean when you say crazy? What are some of your memories? You obviously told me about when you were by yourself but did you ever get an opportunity to get out and interact with people?
Brianna: No, I didn't interact with anybody. I just talked on the phone with my mom and my mother in law. I only got to stay on my cell for like 30 minutes and it wasn't even that long either. It's really supposed to be a whole hour but didn't get time to watch one inmate for an hour.
Joann: When you say they're all the other crazies what was happening?
Brianna: People just yelling all night, beating on their window, hurting themselves. It was crazy. Getting maced and stuff. It was crazy.
Joann: Did you see the stuff happening through ... Were you able to see outside your cell?
Brianna: Yeah, it was like a big window. I wasn't trying to be ... I was just laying in bed all day. I didn't even want to get up to get food or nothing. I just laid there. I just laid there. My dad, he actually had a girlfriend and she was there. She was in jail. She was on the same side as me. She was knocking on the door. She was like, "Your daddy talking to ..." I actually thought she was crazy because she didn't tell me her name or anything. She just said, "Your dad told me to tell you he love you." I just tried to stay in bed all day because it was weird. It was like screaming at my door.
Joann: What kind of relationship do you have with your dad?
Brianna: I have a nice relationship with him. He's funny. We actually relate. We can relate on a lot of stuff. He understands me more than my mom does. We have a nice little relationship.
Joann: You hadn't met his girlfriend so you didn't know who that was?
Brianna: No. I was like, "Where did she come from?" I don't try and keep up with my dad's girlfriends because he has many of them. I'm like, "Okay, dad. You do you. I'm just your daughter. I don't care." When she came to my cell I really thought she was crazy because she had some glasses. Both her glasses was broken. She was just holding them to her face like this. I was like, "She probably got me mistaken for somebody else." It was funny.
Joann: Did you talk to your dad about that? Did you ask him?
Brianna: Yeah, he was laughing. He was like, "Yeah, that was my girlfriend. I forgot to tell you about her. She went to jail." It was crazy.
Joann: Tell me about your daughter now.
Brianna: She's in there now. She'll probably be waking up right now in a minute for some food. Just a little greedy baby. A crybaby.
Joann: You've got cousins living here altogether?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative) My nieces/sisters. They're so happy to be my sisters. They're like, "I don't got to call you cousin no more. You're my sister." My mom has custody of three of them.
Joann: There was a fourth one, right?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative) She's with her dad.
Joann: Y'all just have a girl party over here?
Brianna: Yeah, a girl party.
Joann: What's your status now? No more supervision of the court? You said you've got a few more months until you ... When does this case officially get over for you?
Brianna: I have a couple of months to go. It'll be off my record and I can get a job that I'm wanting. I failed a couple of backgrounds so I'm not working now. I'm just trying to go to school. I'm scheduled to take a test for ... It's TK for short. I forgot the little words to go along with it.
Joann: Did you get your high school equivalency? You graduated, though?
Brianna: I have my diploma.
Joann: This is just the next step. Do you want to try and go to college?
Brianna: Mm-hmm (affirmative) Going to college.
Joann: Do you want to do college versus the vocational route? You want to go to a two year, four year college?
Brianna: I was thinking about doing a couple of month program for pharmacy tech. As I'm doing pharmacy tech I'm going to school also to be a pharmacist so I can go ahead and get my ... I was thinking about doing a four year college.
Joann: Where are you enrolled right now?
Brianna: I'm enrolled. I just have to pay for my test and I'm done. I'll be going there, attending there.
Joann: Attending where? What is it?
Brianna: It's like Tennessee College of ... Something like applied technology. Something like that.
Joann: That sounds right. That sounds right. Is the test you'll get some sort of a certification when you take the test or you just pass the test?
Brianna: If I pass the test I'm enrolled in their school.
Joann: Got you. Do you have a parole officer or anybody who checks in with you from the court?
Brianna: Not really. No.
Joann: Okay. Let me see if there's any notes from Keva. I think that was about what she suggested.
Sarah: It's about to get crazy in here anyway.
Joann: She said you did care to development. What's that?
Brianna: Care to development?
Joann: At JIFF.
Brianna: We did a lot of things. I participated in a lot of things. I don't remember.
Joann: You said it helped you find yourself?
Brianna: Oh, yeah. They did like describe your personality. All of those words on a board. We write down what are we and we go over them and we see if we really, truly that. It was one called honesty. I wasn't honest. I wouldn't say I was honest because when have you lied ... Even over the most smallest things. Yeah, I know I'm not an honest person. Even the little smallest ... I was actually truthful and patient because I am very impatient with processes and all that because I like to take the easy way out. Just because I'm impatient I can't deal with it.
Joann: What were some of the good things that you learned about yourself?
Brianna: Leadership because my nieces, sister, I encourage them. I don't just tell them how to do stuff. I show them so they can watch me and be like, "Okay, sissy's doing this. She's making this place and this place." I'm going to go down that route and I'm going to be following leadership.
Joann: Cool. Anything else you want to add that we didn't talk about?
Brianna: No.
Joann: Okay. Well, thank you.
Brianna: You're welcome.