Looking back, with all I know with what they do with that currency today, I do not regret it having it happen. Yet the karma wheel spins regardless and dues must be paid.

I was only a kid after all. I wanted some luxeries of my own. And also wanted some attention and to be accepted at my school.

This days publication is by no means to get attention either or to seek pity or to get shun. These are just facts of my life that have been a major factor to growing up and learning from my experiences.

I didn't have any real friends growing up. Mostly everyone either wanted something from me or to just use me to satisfy their own wants.

Yes, I was naive and careless. Gullible to boot. Believed almost anything anyone ever told me unless experienced truth told me otherwise. Thus, I was very subjected to manipulation by both kids of my age and adults.

I was naturally hated for some reason. I NEVER and still havent figured out why, and probably never will, many who have come across me naturally wanted me to "lick their boots", per-say.

I was a natural rebelious character. I didn't like getting picked on but it happened in repitition. Bullying was and is a major factor in my life to why I am the way I am. It was "a hard lifestyle".

They say to stand up and they will back off. Yea I did that but got the opposite results x100. Bullying only increased as the more i refused.

I have been "asked" to join their stupid gangs. Getting beat up to join. That's how one is initiated in. Does that mean I am a gang member of many gangs because about just all of them have ganged up on me to do just that already?

I wont go to into details. If I wasn't getting my ass wooped at school it was after or before school. By an abusive drunk or my cousins and their cousins.

What would get these guys off my back?

I used to be a church goer. Not by choice but because I was made too.

I sat at the very front with my parents. I didn't like church. Ever. It was boring (still is) and almost put me to sleep. Which I tried to do as a youngling but as one gets older, its a no no or else.

I "volunteered"(was made to) to be a "church helper" for the "father/priest". Who by the way, was really nice to me. (No i was never touched by them in any way. Not all priests are pedophiles but one never knows either way. The catholics history is impecible.)

I realized that by helping the father get the mass going as they do their rituals was time away from everyone else. A pkus for me. So what if I had to do what they do, or that everyone could see me up here. To be honest, not much attention goes to the little helper.

I did this for a good few years. Rotating in turn. Almost every damn sunday. I gained their trust. I would say I was pretty well behaved actually. Stealing from the basket has never really occured to me. And neither did it occur to me to steal from the donation collections when it was being gathered and organized at the office. I volunteered into that too and was accepted to do so.

The temptation to steal was moot.

Untill....

Becoming a teenager, and still getting bullied, I found many of these bullies would leave me alone if I flashed some money their way. Like a pay off. But where was I ever going to get this type of currency? Surely there had to be a way.

Now enters M.

"M" was an older dude twice my size but still a kid to the adults. Older for sure. It was one night after mass and almost everyone had left that this guy showed me a wad of cash. I was like woah. I wished for some of that.

I talked him into telling me how he got it and to my amazement, it was from the collections basket. But how did he manage to take so much without being caught? The amount of 5's, 20's and even 100's was off the scale.

He told me how. And showed me how to do it. And I, as an accomplice, was all in to do just that.

Next sunday rolls in. The church is over and the counting has begun. Its a small room. Almost looking like an extended closet. 4 to 6 adults collecting the mullah and so was "M". "M" nods over to his left which is where I go to. I station nyself next to him. And together we got rich quick.

The first time I managed to gather aproximetly 500 dollars in one sitting. This was about average. 500 sometimes triple if "M" didnt show up that day.

Guess who wanted to attend every mass now?

Yea

Anyways.

I never got caught doing it though. Instead, almost everyone who was counting the flow got replaced.

It was fun while it lasted. Boy did I make bank. And you want to know where I spent most of it?

Paying off many multiple bullies.

During the whole time, i never bought one thing for me with that money. I paid off the guys hurting me. And when they fojnd out nothing was coming their way, they, amazingly, did nothing to me.

I was left alone. The bullying just stopped.

The end.

No, I don't condone anyone to "steal". I recommend you avoid such acts if possible. Unless its for survival, then I wont for sure blame you.

I wont lie to you. I have "stolen" bread out of hunger.

Thanks for reading.

Cheers.