I’ve been charged with felony shoplifting even though I only stole $50. What do I do?

Title says it all. I made the terrible decision to steal something easy that one fateful night and now I’m in serious trouble. The only thing I’ve ever been arrested for was a dui 15 years ago, and I’m 38 yo now. I just got my arrest warrant in the mail but the court date is sometime in January. <br><br>What am I getting myself in for? How long do I have to wait to begin the process, since they’ve not arrested my yet even though I have a warrant out? Everything I read online is about jail time and lawyers and court hearings, but nobody explains what actually goes down between getting the warrant and spending time in jail. I’ve had no contact with any authorities since I was arrested and published almost a month ago.<br><br>What does this mean for my career going forward? Will this always be on my background check? I can’t imagine this not really affecting my life once the justice system actually gets a hold of me.