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Delighted with the Details

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The Journey Begins!

Welcome! I’m Tina and I’m delighted you stopped by.

I’ve been turning houses into homes for many years. My style continues to evolve but what remains constant is my love for creating warm and welcoming spaces. Follow me as I share budget friendly decorating tips, DIY projects, and my adventures hunting for perfect pieces to compliment each and every room.

Over time, I’ve discovered simple details are what make the greatest impact when decorating a space. It’s the little details we layer that add depth and appeal to our senses, giving our homes a personal touch and a story we can’t wait to tell.

I hope you find inspiration along the way so you will be “delighted with the details” as you create your own beautiful spaces that make your house a home.

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Delighted With the Details

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77 Positive and Inspiring Journey Quotes

Embark on a journey of a lifetime with these inspiring journey quotes. Life’s a thrilling ride, filled with ups and downs.

It’s about braving the storms and cherishing time spent with loved ones.

So whether your path is spiritual, an exciting travel adventure, or just starting something new in life, let these quotes fuel your spirit for exploration and discovery.

Journey quotes to begin your path towards greatness

1. “Never give up on your dreams, no matter how painful and difficult your journey is.” – Lisa

2. “The journey is never ending. There’s always gonna be growth, improvement, adversity; you just gotta take it all in and do what’s right, continue to grow, continue to live in the moment.” – Antonio Brown

3. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” – Lao Tzu

4. “Sometimes its more about the journey than the destination.” – Jamal Crawford

5. “Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.” – Arthur Ashe

6. “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” – Greg Anderson

New journey quotes to inspire your success

7. “Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

8. “Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination.” – Drake

9. “Sometimes we make the process more complicated than we need to. We will never make a journey of a thousand miles by fretting about how long it will take or how hard it will be. We make the journey by taking each day step by step and then repeating it again and again until we reach our destination.” – Joseph B. Wirthlin

10. “Enjoy the journey and try to get better every day. And don’t lose the passion and the love for what you do.” – Nadia Comaneci

11. “Struggle teaches you a lot of things, and I am happy that I witnessed a roller coaster ride. The journey has improved me as a person and made me more matrure.” – Manoj Bajpayee

12. “Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are traveling the dark journey with us. Oh be swift to love, make haste to be kind.” – Henri Frederic Amiel

Life is a journey quotes

13. “Life is a journey that must be traveled no matter how bad the roads and accommodations.” – Oliver Goldsmith

14. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost

15. “Learn to trust the journey, even when you do not understand it.” – Lolly Daskal

16. “Life is a journey that have a lot of different paths, but any path you choose, use it as your destiny.” – Unknown

17. “The beautiful journey of today can only begin when we learn to let go of yesterday.” – Steve Maraboli

Discover unique products that inspire at the InspiredLife Shop Wear Your Motivation. Inspire Your Space.

18. “Life is a journey, not a destination.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

19. “Everyday you got a chance to make your journey more beautiful than yesterday.” – Nitin Namdeo

20. “Every day is a journey and the journey itself is home.” – Matsuo Basho

21. “Everybody has their own story; everything has their own journey.” – Thalia

Enjoy the journey quotes

22. “Enjoy the journey as much as the destination.” – Marshall Sylver

23. “Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame.” – Benedict Cumberbatch

24. “Enjoy the journey and try to get better everyday. And don’t lose the passion and the love for what you do.” – Nadia Comaneci

25. “Enjoy the journey, the destination will come.” – Verghese

26. “Don’t wait for everything to be perfect before you decide to enjoy your life.” – Joyce Meyer

27. “Dream big, stay positive, work hard, and enjoy the journey.” – Urijah Faber

28. “The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but significance, and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.” – Oprah Winfrey

29. “Aim for the sky, but move slowly, enjoying every step along the way. It is all those little steps that make the journey complete.” – Chanda Kochar

30. “Enjoy the journey, enjoy every moment, and quit worrying about winning and losing.” – Matt Biondi

31. “Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey.” – Babs Hoffman

32. “I haven’t been everywhere but its on my list.” – Susan Sontag

33. “You must remain focused on your journey to greatness.” – Les Brown

Inspirational journey quotes

34. “You can never regret anything you do in life. You kind of have to learn the lesson from whatever the experience is and take it with you on your journey forward.” – Aubrey O’Day

35. “Life is a journey. When we stop, things don’t go right.” – Pope Francis

36. “There’s no map for you to follow and take your journey. You are Lewis and Clark. You are the mapmaker.” – Phillipa Soo

37. “I’m different than most people. When I cross the finish line of a big race, I see that people are ecstatic, but I’m thinking about what I’m going to do tomorrow. It’s as if my journey is everlasting, and there is no finish line.” – David Goggins

38. “We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.” – Marcel Proust

39. “Though the road’s been rocky it sure feels good to me.” – Bob Marley

40. “We are at our very best, and we are happiest, when we are fully engaged in work we enjoy on the journey toward the goal we’ve established for ourselves. It gives meaning to our time off and comfort to our sleep. It makes everything else in life so wonderful, so worthwhile.” – Earl Nightingale

41. “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.” – Steve Jobs

42. “If my ship sails from sight, it doesn’t mean my journey ends, it simply means the river bends.” – Enoch Powell

Motivational journey quotes 

43. “Make voyages. Attempt them. There’s nothing else.” – Tennessee Williams

44. “Gotta take that adventure in order to understand your journey.” – Jennifer Pierre

45. “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt

46. “The beauty of my journey is that it’s always been pretty unpredictable, so stay tuned.” – Andreja Pejic

47. “The journey not the arrival matters.” – T.S. Eliot

48. “The future depends on what you do today.” – Mahatma Gandhi

49. “The goal is to die with memories, not dreams.” – Unknown

50. “Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering.” – Theodore Roosevelt

51. “The harder you work from something, the greater you’ll feel when you achieve it.” – Sudhashree Acharya

52. “Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.” – Pat Conroy

53. “The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.” – ILHQ

54. “When setting out on a journey do not seek advice from someone who never left home.” – Rumi

Positive journey quotes

55. “You may only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” – Mae West

56. “Every day you got a chance to make your journey more beautiful than yesterday.” – Nitin Namdeo

57. “Stay positive. Better days are on their way.” – Unknown

58. “Your destiny is to fulfill those things upon which you focus most intently. So choose to keep your focus on that which is truly magnificent, beautiful, uplifting and joyful. Your life is always moving toward something.” – Ralph Marston

59. “You make a life out of what you have, not what you’re missing.” – Kate Morton

60. “Every sunset is an opportunity to reset. Every sunrise begins with new eyes.” – Richie Norton

61. “Life is very interesting. In the end, some of your greatest pains, become your greatest strengths.” – Drew Barrymore

62. “Your journey has molded you for your greater good, and it was exactly what it needed to be. Don’t think you’ve lost time. There is no short-cutting life. It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the now. And now is right on time.” – Asha Tyson

63. “And suddenty you know…It’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.” – Meister Eckhart

64. “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” – Dolly Parton

65. “Your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude.” – Michelle Obama

66. “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde

67. “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” – Wayne Dyer

Journey of life quotes

68. “The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.” – Tony Robbins

69. “When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let go.” – Carol Burnett

70. “Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” – Charles R. Swindoll

71. “You take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing, no one to blame.” – Erica Jong

72. “If all difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey, most of us would never start out at all.” – Dan Rather

73. “It’s your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself that determines how your life’s story will develop.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf

74. “Your Monday morning thoughts set the tone for your whole week. See yourself getting stronger, and living a fulfilling, happier & healthier life.” – Germany Kent

75. “Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” – Lou Holtz

76. “Our lives are the journey we take to find our true selves!” – Alyssa Gonzalez

77. “Your braver than you believe, stronger that you seem, and smarter than you think.” – A.A. Milne

Which of these journey quotes were your favorites?

We all have the potential within us to be great.

But greatness isn’t about luck. It’s a choice.

We must choose to succeed and take steps towards it.

Remember, the path to success is a journey, not a quick leap.

Let these quotes inspire you to stay focused on your goals and dreams, no matter what obstacles get in your way along the path.

Helping people and eating tacos are my jam! This blog exists to help provide tips and resources that can help you achieve your goals and live a better life. Whether you’re looking for tips on personal growth, fitness, advice on starting a side hustle, or resources for working remotely, I’ve got you covered.

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“Absolutely LOVED it! So full, vibrant, colorful, and packaged sturdily. I bought this for me and my cousin, she absolutely loves it too!!!”

- Reema A, Verified Customer

“Absolutely LOVED it! So full, vibrant, and colorful, and packaged sturdily. I bought this for me and my cousin, she absolutely loves it too!!!”

- Reema A, Verified Customer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Decorate for Fall With the Cutest Wreaths!  

Save 15% off your thanksgiving decorating.

Style Your Home for a Truly Unique Look for Less…

Fall Boho Pampas Wreath

When the colors of summer begin to fade to earthy browns, reds and oranges, fall is just on the horizon. Capture the feeling of the moment that the weather begins to shift with this Fall Boho Pampas Wreath. This wreath is particularly well suited for modern farmhouses and other bohemian or rustic style homes with its swirl of pampas grass that twists around the circle of the wreath. At the top is thin black ribbon tied into a bow with ends that dangle to the bottom of the wreath. It measures approximately 22 inches in diameter and has a protective fabric back,  this Neutral wreath will be the perfect addition to your cozy home. 

🌿Includes a fabric backing to protect wall and door paint. 

🌿All items are handmade so no two pieces will be exactly alike

🌿Ships with 5-7 business days

Retail Price:

Your Price:

Autumn Harvest Wreath

This large autumn harvest wreath is handcrafted  from all of the fall essentials. cream, orange and green maple leaves, neutral fall wildflowers, white berries and accented with cream pumpkins and vibrant burnt parks and crimson eucalyptus leaves  

This autumn wreath measures approximately 24 inches in diameter and has a protective fabric back, this Neutral wreath with a pop of color will be the perfect addition to your cozy home. 

Fall Corn Husk Wreath

This larger neutral wreath is crated from dried corn husk and artificial auburn pampas.  This wreath is particularly well suited for modern farmhouses and other bohemian or rustic style homes to make a statement on your front door this fall season.

 It measures approximately 25 inches in diameter and has a protective fabric back,  this Neutral wreath will be the perfect addition to your cozy home. 

 Discover Why 1,405+ Worldwide Love Journey Decor and Their Products!

“I absolutely love these wreaths! The colors pop. The material feels durable. Other wreaths I’ve gotten before felt cheap and only lasted a year or so. These seem like they will last a lifetime!”

Sklar H. Verified Customer

“My daughter wanted to decorate her room and make it look like HER room. So, we got a bunch of wall signs from here and a fall wreath for her door. And I have never seen my daughter so happy with her room. She loves it! I highly recommend Journey Decor!”

John, Verified Customer

“We moved houses and wanted to give our new one a different feel. My wife loves anything pumpkins. I got her a fall wreath for our front door, and some fall wreaths for our interiors. She loved it. It’s super affordable and high-quality!”

Armin, Verified Customer

Why Should You Choose From Our Handmade Collection?

Journey Decor began in 2020, intending to inspire the everyday mom to create a home they love. With the support of a talented team,  our customers helped us quickly realize just how easily handcrafted decor can transform a space.  It was during that time that the Journey Decor Brand truly began. 

As we have expanded, we have been on a journey to continue to inspire others in their creativity to create a home they love. Our collections of handcrafted items include:

• Scroll signs

All make for thoughtful and perfect housewarming gifts!

Journey Decor will continue to stay true to our journey of supporting women, creativity, and empowering every family to feel at home, no matter where they may be in life’s journey.

Fabric To Protect The Doors

All our Wreaths have fabric on the inside. This backing protects your door from any kind of damage. You can give your doors an elegant look without any worry!

Light-Weight Wall Signs

Our Wall Scroll Signs are designed to be lightweight and portable. You can hang them on your walls without worrying about the damage, i.e., free display & hanging. Carry them with you easily as you move houses!

Giving Back To The Community!

We create sustainable & handmade products. We give back to local communities to help grant resources to overcome adversity.

The commonplace is the front door, where wreaths can trigger a welcoming ambiance for visitors. 

Indoor hanging spots are just as common to protect wreaths from weather and elemental damage. Indoor spots include:

• Living room
• Laundry room

Anywhere, really!

One of the greatest appeals of artificial wreaths is durability. Fresh wreaths, consisting of organic materials, will typically last one season depending on usage, placement, care, etc. 

On the other hand, artificial wreaths can last a very long time. With the proper care and love, you can get many years of use out of each wreath with the appropriate care and love.

Journey Decor is committed to our customer’s satisfaction. If you have purchased a product from Journey Decor and are unhappy with the product received, you may be eligible for a refund/partial refund if the item is returned within 30 days of the original purchase date.

Refunds of Physical Products:

To be eligible for a return and refund, the following steps must be taken:

• Refund must be requested in writing by contacting [email protected] 
• Item must be returned within 30 days of the original purchase date.
• Hard goods must be returned to Journey Decor immediately, according to the instructions you will receive once contacting [email protected] as directed in step 1.
• The item(s) must be unused and returned in the original packaging, in like-new, or re-sellable condition, as determined in Journey Decor sole, reasonable discretion.
• After the product is received in its original condition, refunds will be credited back to the method of payment used at the initial checkout within five business days.

Conditions of return:

Buyers are responsible for return shipping costs. If the item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value.

Non-returnable Items:

Because of the nature of these items, unless they arrive damaged or defective, Journey Decor can't accept returns for:

• Custom or personalized orders

Refunds of Subscription Based Goods:

To be eligible for a refund on any digital/subscription-based goods, the following steps must be taken:

• Refunds must be requested in writing by contacting [email protected]
• A request for a refund must be made within 30 days of the original purchase date

Journey Decor is committed to its Customers, and while we stand by our policy as written above, we also want to understand how we can resolve the dissatisfaction and better understand how we can serve you. Please contact Journey Decor at [email protected] for any questions related to our policy, or simply to let us know how we can help.

Journey Decor takes pride in handmaking our products with love while offering quick processing time to get them shipped to their forever home ASAP.

Products will ship within 5-7 Business days from when the order is placed.

Orders placed after 12 PM EST will begin their processing time the following business day. 

For inquiries regarding the status of your order, please contact [email protected] with the order number.

• Los Angeles, CA
• [email protected]

The Journey Begins

enriching experiences for children for their first years

the journey for a lifelong learner begins here

The tjb way to learn and grow.

The Journey Begins follows a traditional school year. Our oldest children age out of our program and go off to preschool who in turn leave preschool for kindergarten. Our largest enrollment period is for the Fall, with a mid-late August start date. We often have a very small secondary enrollment, with a January start date. There are rare occasions, randomly throughout the year, we have an unexpected space and we try our best to get those filled immediately.

Daily activity

info will be provided for your child, however, we feel it is important, and encourage you to ask questions regarding your child’s activity, nutrition, growth and development.

Flexibility

of the program is important, as the needs of infants are constantly changing and developing. A positive and happy staff, a trusting relationship between care-giver and the child, clean and well-organized environment, room to play, indoors and outside, in a safe and stimulating environment.

Development

is monitored. We look for large and small motor development, coordination, interaction with peers and communicating in the physical domain and assisting with language and cognitive development.

Our mission/vision incorporates a safe and stimulating environment that enriches the children through these important first years. We incorporate open communication between staff and parents. Parents are always welcome to visit their child, come for feedings or nursing, or as their schedules allows.*

* Covid protocols may prohibit parents on campus due to Public Health & Safety as well as licensing guidelines.

The Journey Begins (TJB) knows that each child is an individual and needs to be treated as such. Children begin care at all stages of development and we will guide them through these stages and build upon them.

We feel it is important, and encourage parents to ask questions regarding their child’s activity, nutrition, growth and development. If we don’t know…we can’t help!

TJB provides a nurturing environment where children can grow and develop physically, mentally, emotionally and socially. Children learn through their play and age-appropriate activities, S.T.E.A.M., toys, and developmental milestones.

Our goal is to always provide the children in our care a clean, safe, comfortable, and loving environment where they can play and grow.

Celebration Kids is our sister program for preschool age children located in South Pasadena. All of the children that age out of our program are given priority at Celebration Kids based on age and availability. If you would like to take look at their program or get on their website click the link below.

6438 York Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90042 (323) 551-5922

email: [email protected]

• Exterior Accessories
• License Plate Covers & Frames

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The Journey Begins with Single Step Quote License Plate Tag Car Decoration Peace Day

About this item.

• Size: 29.5cm x 14.5cm (12 inch x 6 inch)
• Classification: License Plate
• Feature: -Solid metal: durability and strength; -Do not rust or corrode; -Images are printed from high resolution file and will not fade over time; -Four pre-drilled holes for quick and easy mounting on any vehicle;
• Material: High quality and solid metal
• Package Quantity: 1 x License Plate

Product Description

Size: 29.5cm x 14.5cm (12 inch x 6 inch) Classification: License Plate Feature: -Solid metal: durability and strength -Do not rust or corrode -Images are printed from high resolution file and will not fade over time -Four pre-drilled holes for quick and easy mounting on any vehicle Material: High quality and solid metal Package Quantity: 1 x License Plate Keywords: License Plate,Quote,Car Decoration,Engllsh,Car Accessory,Letters,Stainless Steel,Style,Car,Life,Dream,Inspirational,Chinese Perfect to put on your car or for decorative purposes around your bedroom, dining room, garage, basement, bar, coffee shop or anywhere you want to create your unique styles. Our license plates are made from solid metal for durability and strength. Lightweight and do not rust or corrode. Images are printed from high resolution files for sharp results. Will not fade over time. Four pre-drilled holes for quick and easy mounting on any vehicle (mounting hardware not included). DIYthinker wishes to bring everyone's ideas into reality. We provide the greatest product choice for you, such as 3C, ceramic mugs and dishes , wall decorations, car peripherals or clothing accessories. You can easily to find different products with particular pictures design in DIYthinker. Apart from ready-made products, you can also customize products with your superb ideas in DIYthinker. If you come up any interesting ideas, you can feel free to contact us and start your design. We are ready to bring you high quality products, prefect shopping experience and unique lifestyle.

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Technical details, additional information, warranty & support, looking for specific info, customer reviews.

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

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“The Right Way”: The long journey to asylum for one Venezuelan family

This documentary follows the pabón family as they begin a life in the us, by gerardo del valle.

This article originally appeared on ProPublica .

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox .

The Pabón family is among the nearly 8 million Venezuelans who have left their country in the last decade, fleeing an authoritarian regime and a collapsed economy — one of the largest population displacements in the world.

The family arrived in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico — across the border from El Paso, Texas — on Dec. 1, 2022, following a six-month journey across seven countries and thousands of miles. They’d left their homeland at a time when the United States had agreed to suspend the deportations of Venezuelans who were already living in the country because Washington had broken diplomatic relations with that country’s president, Nicolás Maduro. Thousands of new Venezuelan migrants arrived in Mexican border cities like Juárez hoping to take advantage of the opening.

But by the time the Pabóns arrived, the U.S. had reversed course and subjected Venezuelans to many of the same immigration restrictions as people of other nationalities. They were required to use a special app, called CBP One, to make an appointment to enter the U.S. to seek asylum. In El Paso, there were about 150 appointments available a day. Suddenly, the Pabóns found themselves stranded with countless other tired and frustrated migrants in a city of 1.5 million residents that lacked the resources to provide for the staggering number of new arrivals.

The pressure-cooker situation culminated in a fire on March 27, 2023 , inside the city’s only immigration detention center. It killed 40 immigrants and injured more than two dozen others in one of the deadliest incidents involving immigrants in the country’s history.

Five months later, the Pabón family managed to get an appointment via the CBP One app and cross into the U.S. They eventually applied for asylum, but after joining a migrant population ever more numerous and visible and without family roots or acquaintances in the country, a clear path for them remains elusive.

Watch the documentary below:

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May 03, 2024 • bachelor insider

Jenn tran’s journey as the bachelorette is set to begin — find out when her season premieres.

Ready for love!

Bachelor Nation fans saw Jenn Tran announced as the next Bachelorette during the season finale of “The Bachelor.”

Now, she’s off on her journey to find love, and fans are anxiously awaiting her highly anticipated season premiere.

After charming audiences with her bubbly personality on Joey Graziadei’s season of “The Bachelor,” the 26-year-old fan favorite will begin handing out roses when the series returns this summer.

ABC just announced that Season 21 of “The Bachelorette” will be premiering on July 8 at 8 p.m.

Fans know that Jenn has already made history as the first Asian-American lead of the show.

And as Jenn gets ready to appear on screen again, she opened up on “After the Final Rose” about what it means to her to be the representation she always wanted to see.

She said, “I'm overwhelmed, it's crazy. It feels so surreal to be sitting here. I feel so, so grateful to be the first Asian-American lead. Growing up, I always wanted to see Asian representation on TV. Now, to be here today... being like, 'I am going to be the main character in my story,' I can't help but think of how many people I'm inspiring and how many lives I can impact.”

We can’t wait for Jenn’s story to unfold and for her to hopefully find the man of her dreams.

We’ll be tuning in to “The Bachelorette” this summer. You can learn more about the new Bachelorette by clicking here .

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Today begins an illuminating journey into the juvenile justice system, where youth either find redemption or further lose their way – Delinquent: Our System, Our Kids

• Updated: May. 01, 2024, 4:14 p.m. |
• Published: Apr. 29, 2024, 9:30 a.m.

There are many paths youths can take through the Cuyahoga County juvenile justice system. (Illustration by Andrea Levy, Advance)

• John H. Tucker, cleveland.com
• Kaitlin Durbin, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – For Montori, life in the streets was a game of shoot to kill.

As boys growing up in Cleveland’s Collinwood-Nottingham neighborhood, he and his friends inherited a feud with rivals in adjacent Glenville. Eventually, fistfights turned into gun battles. Whenever he drew his weapon, Montori felt like a competitor in a Call of Duty video game, with points amassed by hitting targets.

“It’s all about who got the higher score,” he says now. “That’s how you get your clout.”

One night in 2018, the then-17-year-old grabbed two pistols and headed out the door. Acquiring guns was no problem for Montori, who stole them on the street and relied on a local woman for straw purchases. It had been less than a year since his release from a juvenile prison, with a rap sheet dating to age 13.

Earlier that night, Montori provoked his rivals on Instagram, and now, cruising the streets, he found himself on their turf. Spotting some young people in a parked car – enemies, he assumed – he made a U-turn. He crept along, window down, and gripped his gun.

Points on the board , he thought, taking aim.

Montori was among more than 50 juvenile offenders who spoke to The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com about their recent experiences within the Cuyahoga County juvenile justice system, which puts more children behind bars than any other county in Ohio.

At the core of the juvenile justice system is society’s agreement that children who do wrong are both capable and deserving of rehabilitation in ways that adults often are not. It’s built upon an understanding that impressionable young people, with their strong wills and still-forming brains, are not only prone to errors in judgment, but also likely to learn from them. It’s a system oriented around second chances and interventions, course correction and compassion. It recognizes when a child’s terrible circumstances – exposure to violence, trauma, abuse, scarcity, housing insecurity – require as much attention as the behavioral problems they sometimes create.

For most kids, that system works.

When it doesn’t, however, youth can get stuck in a cycle. Eventually, their record grows so long, or they are accused of crimes so severe, that the law no longer recognizes them as juveniles. In those cases, they can be transferred to the adult system to face adult sanctions, including adult prison, surrounded by adult offenders. That process, called bindover, is complex and the subject of fierce debate, especially in Cuyahoga County, which binds over more juveniles than Franklin, Hamilton, Summit and Montgomery counties combined. More than 90% of them are Black.

Justice officials say those decisions are easy to explain: The youths did heinous things. They were beyond the juvenile system’s ability for reform, and only an adult prison sentence could have adequately protected the public. But therein lies the complexity: Research shows that not only are kids more hardened and harmed by time served in adult prisons than in the juvenile system, they are also more likely to re-offend once they get out.

In this special series – Delinquent: Our System, Our Kids – The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com have set out to explain how the juvenile justice system works in Cuyahoga County, through the eyes of the young people who go through it.

Delinquent: Our System, Our Kids

• Delinquent: High exposure to trauma might explain why so many Cuyahoga youth, like Nathan, commit serious crimes, get bound over – ‘Trauma is the story’ May. 3, 2024, 8:00a.m.
• Delinquent: Youth are impulsive yet capable of change. Still, some continue to offend after interventions – ‘I was so childish,’ Reese says May. 2, 2024, 8:00a.m.
• Delinquent: Cuyahoga’s juvenile system is supposed to rehabilitate youth when they offend. Most of the time it works – Cameron is one example May. 1, 2024, 8:00a.m.
• Delinquent: Some kids, like Deon, cycle through the system and are bound over as adults. That happens more in Cuyahoga than anywhere in the state Apr. 30, 2024, 8:00a.m.

SEE ALL STORIES FOR DELINQUENT: OUR SYSTEM, OUR KIDS

Over the next six weeks, we spotlight dozens of those youths – identified by middle name or pseudonym – who shared their stories in interviews spanning seven months. Most of them also granted our reporters access to their juvenile casefiles – documents that are not public record – which yielded thousands of pages, illuminating their histories.

Reporters also attended court hearings and collected police reports, transcripts and other legal filings to better understand the influences that led these young people to crime, escalations from petty misdemeanors to violent acts and the barriers that delayed or blocked their rehabilitation, despite interventions.

Throughout these stories, we ask: If Cuyahoga County’s juvenile system is designed to rehabilitate and divert young offenders from crime, is it working? And, at what point did it potentially fail the kids who are in Ohio’s adult prisons today?

Kids like Montori.

Entering the system

In his younger years, Montori excelled athletically and academically. His home life was not as easy. His mother was jailed for several crimes including drug trafficking. Around 10, the boy began hanging out on corners, smoking pot and shooting dice.

When his mother was home, things got violent. Once, she was arrested for striking Montori’s face with a belt buckle – punishment for eating too much, he told police – swelling the 12-year-old’s eye socket. On another occasion, his mother’s boyfriend threw him into a wall, sending him to the hospital. He told police he’d continue running away because of the beatings. During one police encounter he asked officers to shoot him.

“Every kid wants to have a relationship with their parents,” Montori recalls, but “it was toxic in the house.”

Montori’s mother says he often disrespected her. “I don’t beat my kids, I whip their a--,” she says, suggesting there is a difference when a child needs discipline. “I was beating his a-- when he needed it beat. I wasn’t going to let him overrule me. I’m the parent.”

At 13, Montori was charged with domestic violence after an altercation with his mother, introducing him to the juvenile justice system. (Police details are unclear, but Montori says it was self-defense.) A string of petty crimes followed, like breaking windows and destroying his mom’s phone.

When he was 14, Montori says his mother kicked him out of the house. She says he left on his own. Regardless, he befriended teens with similar backgrounds, and together they started stealing cars and playing with guns. “I didn’t know how to aim, I was just shooting,” he says.

A tour of the Cuyahoga county juvenile justice center, which includes the courts and detention center. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

As his crimes escalated, so did court sanctions.

Montori, who’d never stepped foot in a high school, says he was sent to a trio of treatment facilities serving at-risk youth. He remembers sitting in groups, roleplaying anger management and victim awareness. He thought the programs were OK but had little value in his world.

Meanwhile, as he and his friends went through puberty, their beef with the Glenville crew intensified. “You couldn’t go to a gun fight thinking you were going to fight with fists,” Montori says. He was never told how the feud began; he just remembers older peers indoctrinating him.

After violating probation for a kidnapping charge, he was sent to Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility, one of three prisons run by the Ohio Department of Youth Services. For two years, he says, life was a blur of fighting.

After his release, the 17-year-old reunited with his crew, which was committing near-daily crimes. Montori was fueled by adrenaline, softened by Xanax and Ecstasy.

“We just did it for the thrill,” he recalls. “What could we lose?”

He’d soon find out, after rolling up on a car full of Glenville rivals.

‘A treacherous year’

As he aimed his gun through the window, 17-year-old Montori fired several times before it jammed. He grabbed his Glock and unleashed a few more rounds, then peeled away.

On the ride home, he listened to a police scanner app and was excited that an ambulance had been dispatched to the scene. That meant his bullets had hit a mark. OK, I scored , he thought. The next day he was bragging on Instagram.

It had been a “really treacherous” year for the warring crews, Montori recalls. He ticks off the names of friends who’ve been murdered, stopping at eight. He estimates he’d also been shot at more than 10 times over the years.

Meanwhile, his family’s house was shot up three times, his mother says, forcing her to flee. “I could have lost my life,” she says.

Montori’s drive-by shooting resulted in two hospitalizations – neither victim died – but Montori refused to lay low. One day he drove a stolen BMW to the East Cleveland high school and chatted up some girls. A state trooper spotted the car and called for backup.

Five minutes later, Montori was leading a high-speed chase. Eventually, he ditched the car and took off sprinting, but his legs gave out. Cops surrounded him and took him to the juvenile detention center.

Little did he know, the FBI was also investigating a string of bank robberies linked to his group.

A turning point

Authorities tagged the crew as the “Rack Gang” – a nod to a fallen member named Rackman – accusing it of a rash of armed robberies against innocent civilians. Montori would be charged in one of those robberies in an East Cleveland bank.

His juvenile record now reflected 18 offenses.

Free from street drama in jail, however, Montori developed a focus. He busied himself with books and earned a high school diploma so quickly that instructors began asking why he was locked up, he says. “It’s my environment, I’m a product of poverty,” he told them.

He started communicating regularly with his half-sister’s dad, a father figure since his youth. Together they prayed and chatted about the importance of smart decisions.

At some point he was transferred downtown to the adult jail. There, sitting in his cell, the now-18-year-old felt a strange emotion rush through his body. Something he’d never felt before. It was a tinge of remorse.

Now thankful no one died by his hand, he wondered if he could somehow use the experience to become a better man.

A few weeks later, something inexplicable happened: Jail authorities released Montori by accident. He fled, and a judge issued a warrant.

Then, something just as extraordinary happened: After two weeks, he turned himself in.

“The old me woulda ran,” he recalls. “But me being a changed person, taking the straight and narrow path, I said, ‘However much time God wants me to do, I’m going to do it righteously.’”

Montori was bound over to adult court, where he pleaded guilty to several felonies, including a bank robbery and his drive-by shooting. (He told a judge he was with another person when he shot his rivals but now says he drove solo.) At his 2019 sentencing, he read a letter expressing regret.

“I had a lot going on as a kid,” he told the court. He pledged to create a social platform to help troubled teens upon his release from prison.

Common Pleas Judge Daniel Gaul wasn’t moved. “There are a thousand guys that are sentenced out of Cuyahoga County jail in a year who are going to have the same program,” he told Montori.

Kids in the streets, born out of wedlock, are enamored with social media, Gaul, who has since been kicked off the bench for misconduct, lectured at the time. They broadcast their crimes “with the hip-hop music blaring in the background. And they’re so desirous of being famous, like maybe Kanye.”

Gaul handed down a 10-year sentence, toward the low end of the statutory range. Montori had “about a fifty-fifty chance” of straightening up, the judge declared.

‘Rocks at heaven’

Montori is now 23 and midway through his 10-year sentence. By outward appearances he’s doing well. He’s unfailingly upbeat on the phone and is pursuing an associate’s degree in business management. During one conversation, he spoke of his interest to one day work at an assisted living facility – maybe even run his own – though he didn’t realize the Ohio Department of Health bars people convicted with certain felonies from working at such facilities.

His progress hasn’t been linear. Entering prison with a gang tag, he got into fights and spent hours in a max-security facility staring at walls. But his journey of introspection never abated. He enjoyed meeting people from different backgrounds and making fellow prisoners smile.

During a recent phone call, Montori had cause for excitement. Following a prison transfer, he was given a special cellmate: his older brother, who is serving a 28-year sentence for a murder he claims was self-defense. “I’ve been a little tied up remembering old times,” Montori says.

These days, it’s hard for Montori to reconcile with his teenage actions. “I can’t really grasp it, half the things I did,” he says. “I shot two people.”

Back then, his mindset was, “I’m just here,” he explains. His crimes were “pointless, but that was the only thing we knew.” With maturity, though, “Your eyes start to open, and everything changes.”

He admits that he needed to be removed from the community. “The path I was going, I was going to get killed,” he says. “I was throwing rocks at heaven.”

Still, if Montori is in a healthy place now, he’s not sure that adult lockup is the reason.

“I don’t think I needed prison,” he says. “I just needed some time to grow.”

( Coming tomorrow: Deon cycled through the juvenile justice system 19 times before being bound over to adult court for rape. Each touchpoint with the system, in theory, was a chance to rehabilitate him and prevent further crime. Why didn’t it work?)

Data Editor Rich Exner and data reporter Zachary Smith contributed to this report.

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