This year has been a crazy one. The transfer from Lompoc to Danbury started around the beginning of the year, and it took months of not knowing when I was leaving to finally start the trip. Then it took two months on the road to get here. I lost 11 pounds in the Victorville holdover, then stayed in Oklahoma for a couple weeks in the SHU because they said my case was too high profile to be in GP, which is ridiculous. Then adjusting to an east coast low, coming from a west coast medium hasn’t been easy. I initially thought that this time here would be the most difficult time I’ve done yet, but I was lucky enough to get into a Certified Personal Trainer vocation program and it’s been really great. I just finished my final last week, so I should be certified as a trainer soon. Prison Professors Talent has prompted me to read and study in a whole different way, and I’ve learned way more than I would have if I hadn’t met the guy in Victorville that told me about it. I’m actually very proud of the fact that I now get up early every day and study the sectors I’m going to work in when I get out. I hope that my writing has improved, and I know that I’m better prepared than I was. I set a goal to finish at least two book reports each month, and so far I’ve exceeded that. Coming into 2025 I plan to continue reading and studying, and expanding my knowledge with tougher books. I’ll be starting RDAP hopefully in April, which will push me way out of my comfort zone, which is a good thing. Growth happens in times of struggle and adversity. I hope to use the program for whatever I can get out of it. Public speaking terrifies me but I know that it is a skill I have to master, or at least become proficient in, in order to accomplish my end goals. I’ll be required to speak in front of people often in the program, so I’ll try to get better every time I do. I hope for this to be my last year in Prison. I hate that I ended up here, but I feel good about being a better person at the end of all of this.
