I've received many types of reactions when I told people what would be doing this summer. At first, I would tell people that I was working at Eastern Correctional Institution because that is the official name of the prison. I think I might have said that thinking that maybe people wouldn't remember what a correctional institution was and just nod their heads and smile. It wasn't that I was ashamed of working at the prison, but for some reason I felt uncomfortable trying to explain why I would be working at a prison for the summer. I assumed they just wouldn't understand. However, many people knew that correctional institution meant prison. I will never underestimate my friends' knowledge again :) And I soon got used to people's shock so I just began calling it a prison since no matter what I called the place people were still going to ask me why I was interning there.
Like I said reactions have varied. Some have looked at me shocked and surprised. One person said she could see me working there. Another friend couldn't see my "niceness" juxtaposed with the "toughness" of prison. Many have said, "Your mom must be freaking out." And it's interesting because my mom hasn't been freaking out at all. When I was applying for four internships with the program I asked her to look at the description of the internship at the prison and she said that even though I would be working at a prison she felt that I was going to be well-supervised. Then when I found out that was the internship I was offered she whole-heartedly encouraged me to take it because it would be such a great opportunity. I think some of my mom's calmness has rubbed off on me, because I'm more nervous about cooking for myself in my first apartment this summer than working at a prison.
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