Bon Air Week #4

So, when were arrived to the prison today, they were on lockdown, meaning the guys were about 20 min late to our session. Since 2 of the girls in our regular group were not available, my group and I decided to make our session more communal and talk as a group. We chose a few prompts to talk about as a group beforehand and while the guys definitely enjoyed the prompts and were all willing to participate, some of the other girls in my group noted how they felt that the guys were a little more rowdy and probably would have performed better in one-on-one settings. The prompts we asked were rather generic (like what is your favorite holiday) but they really did, the for the most part, develop into longer, deeper conversation about our different lifestyles.

I noticed that my partner, Shanard talked more by himself in the group setting then when he and I do in our own conversations. Not that I had an issue with this, but I realized he’s definitely a more outgoing than I had given him credit for and really balances his “socialness” based on how he feels in group settings.  Since our time was so short and we did not get to speak to our partner’s individually, we were hoping to be able to get an additional date to think about what we might try to do for our final project.

One final thing I do want to bring up is that our group had to answer some tough questions today. One of the guys in our group asked what the purpose of meeting for such a  short time was if we probably were just going to forget them. He said he felt like he would be “a leaf in the wind.” We were all quick to reassure him that they would make as much as an impact on us as we have tried to make on them. Our sessions are all unique and unforgettable and are more than just meeting as a class. Our final project would be what summarized our time together and we could both look at and share.