October 27th, 2024
RPP Class Self-Esteem
A general misconception in prison is that a lot of my peers feel that they have been “programmed out”, they have done every possible programming course offered at the various institutions or are just tired of being on a waiting list.
I can fully comprehend the latter, but being “programmed out” is a misconception. Man has been created to be on this life’s journey to learn from the cradle to the grave. This natural process does not stop in prison, on the contrary, with so much free time and boredom at hand, what better way than to study, learn. You will always find a dictionary, books lying around, old encyclopedias or the occasional Kaplan GED book in the library or just in the dorm. The Kaplan book in itself is a treasure box of knowledge.
I try to learn new words every day and when I talk to family and friends, especially my son, I am always picking his and their brain to learn new things that are happening around the world. I learned about the talks about the “Petrol Dollar”, a new currency in negotiation, for the oil trade.
Try to be an avid reader, knowledge is power, if you want to achieve anything while in prison, at least try to stretch your brain and learn at least 1,000 new words per year, that is roughly 3 per day. Believe me, these will become of great use. Learn new skills. I always want to try to do everything on my own and never had I thought that I would learn how to wax an industrial floor and operate a buffing machine, with the longest power cord I had every seen in my life…
Keep enrolling in classes, write to publishers for free self-study books, join a study group and look through bookshelves to find interesting reads.
So for now, I have completed the Self-Esteem class and am about to hand in my study guide. Feels good to have this accomplished!
