Written by Destani
This section of the OPEEP newsletter, called “A Day in the Life,” is a space to share about the daily lives of students at our partner prison facilities. Our goal with the series is to demystify the everyday lives of incarcerated people and the spaces of prison. We believe that it is everyone’s responsibility to learn more about prisons and the people they house so that we can work against the harmful stereotypes that buttress our country’s carceral state and logics. So thank you for reading and sharing in this work!
Each contribution is written and shared by the student directly. There is some light editing for clarity and space.
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A day in the life...of a busy I.P.
BEEP BEEP BEEP”...it's 5:30 am Thursday morning and I awake to the sounds of my never-ending alarm clock signaling me to wake for the day. I go about my morning routine and plug my headphones in; listening to Andra Day sing “Rise Up”. I go for a morning walk to the chow hall to receive my breakfast. As I walk, I watch the lightning in the sky while I tune out the hum of the electric fence. I list the reasons why I am grateful for today as I mentally prepare myself for another busy, hectic day. I go back into my housing unit to hear “encourager, oh leader, we need you” and I have to solve another problem that seems far too simple.
I then need to move on with making sure everyone is awake in my unit and lead “Community Unity” announcements. I begin with a general wake up call, sing happy birthday to the birthday ladies, give motivational shout outs and a positive quote to start the day. It's time to get hyped up and see a community of programmers come together first thing in the morning. While I wait to receive my medication for the day, I open my laptop and begin reading the never-ending list of necessary books and articles for my four classes this semester. I dig into the reading material and become so engrossed in what I am reading that I almost miss my “next” call in line.
After I receive my medication, I run my way over to the gym to join the Harmony Project run by David Brown and outside guests where I get to sing. While singing, I feel connected and take a step outside of these prison walls metaphysically, just for the day. Singing songs from the 1970s to current music today is just a small part of what we do in the Harmony Project. Once we have finished singing and connecting for the day, I head back to my housing unit to once again help my participants in their programming needs. I attend mandatory groups, facilitating groups about self-love, self-esteem, and compassion. I also facilitate groups about improv theatre games that I was taught in my summer semester through OSU’s OPEEP course.
Once I am finished helping at the programming unit with my participants, it's time to head to school for one of four of our autumn classes. As I walk across the compound to my classroom I watch the sky, punctuated by the shapes of the clouds and I’m still humming Andra Day’s ‘Rise Up’. I keep remembering that I have so much to be thankful for.
Once I am in the classroom it is all business. I take notes, listen to lectures, watch slideshows, and have class discussions on topics that are entirely new to me. This is where I feel I am growing into someone—no-one, not even myself, has ever known before.
The day is barely over yet as I claw my way through the crowd of bodies to return to my unit. I have to ensure I can run a household meeting and check in with my participants to see how their day is going. These household meetings last roughly thirty minutes. They give us time to bond and have a safe space to be ourselves and vent. We go into an institutional count time at 4 o’clock p.m. I then turn on my music to give myself some much-needed self-care time. It is within these thirty to forty minutes that I can unwind from the day resting. I take this time for myself until I can spend a couple hours with my friends and call home to my family before going to bed by 9 o’clock p.m.