Felon’s Alphabet: O is for opportunity
The word opportunity feels like it doesn’t belong in the same sentence as prison. For many people, incarceration is defined by loss: loss of freedom, identity, relationships, and control. Opportunity sounds like something far out of an incarcerated person’s reach, something foreign, something that belongs to the free world. After all, isn’t opportunity something akin to freedom? Doesn’t the word conjure up images of all things wonderful: choices without restrictions, a job, a car, a home, a romantic partner, and a happy, fulfilling life?
“O” is for opportunity.
Webster’s Dictionary defines opportunity as “a time or occasion that is right for doing something; a good chance.”
For people in prison, the concept of opportunity takes on a different meaning. It becomes something intrinsic, something that dares to grow in spite of being in a state of perpetual uncertainty. Opportunity becomes a shift in one’s perspective; it becomes a willingness to see possibilities where others see dead ends. It is the choice one makes to focus on the light when your world is eclipsed by the darkness of incarceration.
In prison, opportunity is not doled out. It is a commodity that requires mining, and like precious ore, it needs to be accrued incrementally, hoarded and then utilized. It may show up as small at first — in a thought, a book, a conversation, or even a self-help program. In those moments of startling clarity, even the smallest opportunity can become life-altering turning points.
Many incarcerated people look back on their time inside and can pinpoint the exact moment where something clicked, something cracked wide open, something shifted. That shift often becomes the beginning of transformation.
One of the most unexpected opportunities in prison is time to reflect. In the free world, life moves quickly. People get caught up in the proverbial rat race, and that often leaves little room for introspection.
Inside prison, time slows. A person is left with their mind, their memories, their regrets, their hopes, and their fears. This level of intense reflection is not an easy task, because intense reflection can feel like confrontation, but it can also be the most powerful opportunity a person will ever have — the opportunity to transform the self from the inside out.
Having passed up a lifetime of opportunities in the free world only to end up in prison, it is vital that we now avail ourselves of the opportunities that are available here. In order to get a chance at a life 2.0, we need to do everything we can to not let chances at rehabilitation pass us by. Today, if we want to be different, we have to choose differently by seizing the opportunities that practically knock on our cell doors daily.
Because let us face it, opportunities abound here in Central California Women’s Facility. Opportunities for rehabilitation in the form of education, vocational training, self-help groups, peer mentors on every yard and every hallway, opportunities to seek recovery from substance use by attending Integrated Substance Use Disorder Treatment, and even spiritual opportunities at our Chapel. The converse is also true; opportunities to do bad also abound.
Let’s face it, life, even a life behind bars, is rife with chances and choices; the question is whether or not we choose to take the chances when they arise. Remember, there can be no homeruns without corresponding big swings for the fences. Isn’t your one life worth swinging for?
