[Thevoice]

Jasa

*Sunday had come and gone. It was Monday and back to work. Jasa took her routine, early morning twenty minute ride on the bus downtown. As she pass the beautiful old historic homes and new high-rise apartments, she dreamed of one day living there.

She leaned her head up aganist the windows cool glass, closing her eyes picturing herself coming home to one of the old English style comfortable houses.

The bus ran over a bump and her head gently hit the glass bringing her back to reality. Just then she remembered that after work, she had to stop by the store and pick up a few items. The thought of lugging bags on the bus always piss her off, but Jasa was still greatful for her marketing job at the Advertising firm [thoguh she only made minimum wage] and the fact that she even had a tiny studio apartment to call home.

She knew or had of so many people losing their job or who had become homeless.

Her place was nothing like the new fancy loft apartments that were going up all over town. The old brick building sat right, smack in the middle of a neighborhood that was quickly deteriorating. Burn down homes, empty lots used for dumping, and drug dealers and crackhead prostitutes seem to be at every street corner. Every other week something didn't work properly in her apartment. Once the buildings old radiators didn't work for two weeks in January. She hated living there, but with her income she really couldn't afford anything better.

Jasa really wanted to go to college, but was terrified of felling. She loved designing clothes and wore some of the oddest t-shirts, jean skirts, headwraps and jewelry. All hand made. Every bit of extra money she'd have went towards buying dye, paint, assorments of beads & schells and scraps of material at Wal-Mart.

Sometimes she would go to the Second hand store and buy old sheets to use. Her unique gear would cause people to stare with disbelief or in awe not having a clue of what they had been created from.

Jasa wanted to take up business and a few designing classes, but always remembered the hard time she had getting through school. Personal issues dealing with living a dysfunctional home growing up disrupted her ability to concentrate and function smoothly like other children.

Being set back twice, she still was determine to finish through highschool dispite the ridicule she faced at home. Jasa's always felt her commical attitude and b/c most of the teachers liked her, was the reason she finally graudated. She never gave herself credit for anything.

Now 26, the thought of going back to school made her stomach turn, yet the whole idea of wanting more out of life gnawed at her, even more so.

She knew education would be the key to open the door of opportunity.

The bus came to it's destination. Jasa tied her scarf tighter around her neck and plopped her colorful knit hat over her long curly hair. She stepped off the bus being greeted by March's late winter snow flakes.*

"Another day, another dollar," she thought heading for the office building where she worked.