Category: Brice Page 1 of 3

The fourth visit J and I discussed our favorite music. My partner liked rap which was reflected when he would sing out lyrics to teh sing from heart, and did so really well.  Although we talked about music the most productive aspect fo conversation was on his artwork. Since the booklet idea was introduced to the class, I asked J if he enjoyed art. He told me about one of the paintings in the classroom that he painted. He painted a canvas of Mohammed Ali/or Mike Tyson winning a boxing match. The painting was incredible and he shared that he had another painting in progress.  It was exciting to know he enjoyed art because of our plans to make the booklet.

This day was also the first time I shared my written copy of J’s story. Based off of his facial expressions and eagerness to listen carefully to his story he seemed to appreciate having his story told. He liked how I captured details of his story by showing and not telling. We made a few additions to the story but iverall he was very dedicated towards making his story as realistic and reflective of his past.

This last visit felt much more casual than the rest. Both myself and my partner were exhausted form the previous day and little sleep but were able to discuss for a bit about our favorite season. He shared that his favorite season was spring because it reminded him of baseball and being outside. We discussed the birds singing signaling that spring has come and both of our struggles with allergies.

My partner and I went over the first initial prompts quickly and then began to talk about college life. He was very excited to tour the campus. He was especially interested in the gym and basketball courts. We ended up talking about working out. Based off talking with J it seems that him and the other inmates enjoy taking care of themselves physically while at the detention center. J shared his favorite workout exercises, those being pushups pull-ups and sit ups.  After sharing that I worked out in the gym he seemed interested. It had been awhile since he had used weights and machines. I felt like this conversation was a full circle moment from our first visit. Thats when Nick G. and I were with some of the detention center kids doing pushups and other exercises. Its awesome that J and the other juveniles take care of themselves physically even when they’re limited in what they can do throughout the day.

An interesting question that J asked me was “how did you guys from the outside think of us? Or at least something along those lines. This was a touching question because it shows that J understands the preconceived notion that anyone in a detention center is dangerous or strange or something along those lines. I told him that we thought it was a great opportunity to get to know him and his other peers in the detention center and that we loved getting to share stories and learn about each other.

I enjoyed our third visit and it was nice to converse with the same partner as last week.  Conversation with my partner felt much more natural than the previous week and that’s primarily because we have gotten to know each other well through storytelling. We also found ourselves getting into other conversations rather than just the prompts.

The prompt this week was when was a time you helped somebody or somebody helped you. I shared my story about helping my grandma find her glasses when I was at her home in New Jersey. J shared that he was biking down stairs because his friend did it, and eventually crashed and split his head open. His father called 911 brought him to the hospital where he got either 3 or 5 stitches. He shared how he still remembers the moment anytime he touches the stitches.

Our first visit to the detention center was very different from my initial expectations. I imagined us all in one large room with all the juveniles and dividing into small groups for discussion. We did end up splitting up into groups, however, we were split up into separate classrooms with little guidance as to what activities to do with the juveniles. Luckily, Professor Dolson told us on the ride there some of the questions we may ask as a group. For example, “What is your favorite movie.” Although the beginning of our visit was unorganized, we were able to straighten things out once we started conversing with the students.

During Will S. and I’s conversation with the juveniles (9th and 10th graders) I did my best to make the environment feel as casual as possible. I could tell by making eye contact with the juveniles that they were uncomfortable with newcomers, especially people closer to their age.  By the end of the visit, however, the students seemed to be very comfortable with us, and I began to feel very comfortable talking to them as well. Another factor that played a role in our communication was that all the students wore masks. I would’ve wished to see their facial expressions and what they actually looked like, but like I stated earlier, I analyzed how comfortable the group felt by their eyes. Some of them looked very curious, others looked relaxed, and some eyes wandered around the classroom giving off the sense of being uncomfortable.

Some topics of strong conversation were music and art.  For 20 minutes, our group shared their taste in music.  Most of them connected with each other through which songs they liked. One student particularly was very passionate about music, so much so that he would sing all the verses to multiple different songs.  With the limited amount of activities available to them, music seemed like a very strong coping mechanism. Along with that, was the student’s interest in anime, whether it be drawing or watching. When Will and I had mentioned the Book art studio, most of the group seemed excited to make a song, or use their artistic gifts to tell stories. As you spend more time with the students you begin to grow empathy for them because in a social setting, they’re sociable, funny, and charismatic.

One last observation I made from the visit was of the detention center itself. Although it had some elements of a prison, like the barbed wire above the basketball hoop outside, I came to understand that they prioritize education. The prison felt close to a public school with pictures and posters on the walls.  Rehabilitation is a heavy focus considering that the prison did its best to make the center more welcoming with murals.