First Week of College is Over…
Since I don’t have anyone to talk to, I figure I’ll do some writing (otherwise known as “talking to yourself via keyboard”)… The first week of college is over, and I must say that it exceeded my (rather low) expectations. My disdain for the institutionalized educational system in this country is well-known by anyone who knows me with any level of familiarity - admittedly, thats not many people 
So going into college, I didn’t really expect much, and I kind of didn’t know what to expect period. I mean, I took a few college classes when I was in prison, but I wouldn’t say that that is representative of “regular” college. And I have to say the classes I have now and the teachers I have now are way more interesting and exciting than any of the ones I had in prison - though my Spanish teacher in prison was fairly interesting. I suppose the fact that there are actually females of the species present may contribute some to the added excitement and interest… Besides that, going into college now, I’ve been in prison all my life, just got out after doing 11 years in prison, so that also factored into my apprehension and uncertainty about what to expect. But all of the staff that I’ve mentioned my prison past to have seemed pretty unfazed by it - at least outwardly. And I haven’t really even spoken to any of the other students, so I still don’t know how that will play out with them.
Thats another aspect that I don’t know about - most of the students are basically teenagers just out of high school, it seems; though there are a few older students I’ve seen. So they kind of know other people from their high schools, or will ask each other questions like “what high school did you goto?” etc. I’m sure I look at least a bit older than most of them - not that I really look “old” per se, but thats a relative term, of course. Shit, I’m going to be 30 next year though; I’ve talked about that some with my cousin, because she turns 30 next month… Having a roughly 7-inch long goatee and a bald head probably doesn’t “fit in” with the “social norms”, not to mention the big black Chaos Star tattoo I have on my right hand. But I’ve seen a few other people who “stand out”, like a bald-headed girl and a guy with a big mohawk, and I’m sure some of the other students have tattoos of some sort. Then also, this is really the first bit of social interaction I’m getting with people since I’ve been out of prison; and needless to say, in prison I did the majority of my time in seg, so I wasn’t getting much social interaction with anyone then either, though I could hear people yelling, screaming, arguing, etc. 24 hours a day and I occasionally yelled out of my cell to talk to people. So there’s that whole aspect.
But overall its been a great experience and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s definitely a major step in a long, long journey to obtain my ultimate educational objective, a Ph.D. in Computer Science. And quite an accomplishment considering where I was at just 8 months ago and the usual unfortunate circumstances and situation facing most “ex-cons”. One of my teachers is kind of a nerdcore hottie too - alas, she’s married, and I rather doubt its an “open” or polyamorous relationship. Like I know anything about meeting or being in a relationship with women, anyway… Adds a little more excitement to the class, though Ah well, maybe I’ll meet some other women - as if I need another bullshit “relationship” with a woman…
