“A Defining Moment is Very Subjective”

This week was a little different. My partner, Christian, was not there tonight due to the fact that he was in court all day. It worked out alright, however, because Ally wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t make it tonight either, so I got to work with her partner Brian. The prompt we discussed was “talk about a defining moment in you life.”

Brian was definitely very disappointed with Ally’s absence, but seeing his face light up when Tilley handed him the letter Ally had wrote him was incredible. Even Sage commented on how much of a difference receiving that letter made on Brian’s mood. I tried my best tonight to work with Brian, but it was difficult because it was like starting from the square one again. Don’t get me wrong, Brian was very open when it came to sharing, but it was definitely different than the other groups. While others were talking about deep personal stories, we were still kind of getting to know each other and building that trust.

I noticed that Brian was very conflicted when it came to choosing a story that embodied a defining moment in his life. “A defining moment is very subjective,” he commented. After a few minutes of a little more thinking, he decided that his defining moment was getting locked up. It taught him that he couldn’t do whatever he pleased without facing the consequences. I admire Brian’s maturity so much. He often comments on how you can’t change the past, only the future. He has such a great outlook on life when it comes to not dwelling on the past, especially considering the situation he is in. He also mentioned tonight that he was tried as an adult, so maybe that has something to do with his maturity. He must have had to grow up real fast.

While Brian seemed to have a good outlook on life in general, he was clearly, and rightly so, frustrated with his situation. He told me about how today his unit “learned how to follow instructions.” We both laughed at this, seeing as they received instruction on how to follow instructions.

I really hope that I did my best to make Brian’s night worthwhile. I know talking to someone new who you haven’t built that trust with is hard, so I hope that he got at least a little out of our conversation tonight.

****Professor Dolson: I still have the red folder from tonight. Would you like me to drop it off in your office tomorrow so the Tuesday night group can have it?