May 28, 2020: Stay safe and free

I used to come to every class and stare and look crazy, but deep inside i was always smiling. always excited to learn. always wanting to experience the feeling of a classroom again. it is one of many regrets that i have in life...not going to school. it was a horrible place for me as a child. bullying, teasing, fighting, and a child's apparent obnoxious ability to notice another's lack of designer clothes versus knowing the alphabet.

to say the least, i was absent in school. i came to prison when i was 17 and i soon realized that i payed too much attention to the negatives and not the positives. i was a child that needed guidance, but i am upset that the lack of guidance left me to focus on the bad.

but doing joint classes with you all made me happy to have a slight second chance for myself and allow your enthusiasm to spark my own. so thank you to you all, but especially 'Skins'. your energy was infectious and enjoyable. to each and every one else... claire, joanna, elise, selena, heaven, and the many other who escape me right now. thank you for your time, compassion, and willingness to allow us men to be just that. you are in our prayers and thoughts. stay safe and free.