Nature or Nurture?

A little while ago my mother asked me why I was so close to these people that I barely knew. She didn't give me a chance to explain, to tell her that I know them just as well, maybe even better than, I know my best friend since middle school.

We were that awkward group. We came to campus on a Sunday, not a Tuesday. Weird, right? And our teacher was off gallivanting with her family for Thanksgiving (yeah, we came 4 days before Thanksgiving.) So we had the schedule that was improvised by our substitute. Confusing as heck, let me tell you. And we weren't the only ones confused, other students knew us (and still kinda do) by the fact that we came in on a Sunday,

We were also loud. Well, a couple of the guys were, most of us were fairly quiet. But they bonded over the long weekend. I say 'they' because I went to visit family. It wasn't a terrible experience, but it definitely wasn't my favorite. I came back to school and there were so many stories to be told and I felt myself on the outside of it all. But the next day, it was back to usual.

Unfortunately, that meant our teacher was back. There are stories told about her, and not many of them are kind. And half of them contradict the other half. We had been warned repeatedly.
I walked into class expecting an old, stern woman with the poker face of a dragon. My first impression: A kind, middle aged woman. My second impression: A stickler for the rules. My third: You wanted to get on her good side. A good recommendation from this woman would skip you right past Trainee (the lowest rank you can get on campus without breaking the rules) and straight to Employee. So many steps closer to the Honors Floor(s) that had INTERNET.

Oh, yeah, you guessed it. The internet was severely restricted and controlled. The Boy's Honors Floor has WiFi, and the Girl's Honors Floor has hookups in every room. Outside the classrooms, the only other places you can find internet are in the computer labs. And the internet is blocked so much more than in high school. In HS you could find ways around the blocks, little loop holes that the staff never thought of. But the government thinks of everything. Data is your best friend. Screw the kid you grew up with, they won't let you check your Facebook or upload photos to Instagram.

Back to The Dragon. She wasn't as bad as you would think. As long as you did your work, she had no problem with you. And if you actually tried, she might even like you. It wasn't that hard. Well, for the good kind anyways. Every now and then I got a tisk for talking (quietly) but she had no issue with the girl who followed all the rules simply out of habit. Thankfully, no one called me a brown-noser. I might have actually been a little worried for a bit. Maybe.

Classroom dynamics were definitely obvious. The Class Clown, the guy who always talked too much, the Pops, the jock with hidden skills, the kid who excelled at everything, and then of course the quiet kids who kept to themselves. You couldn't chastise or pick on them though, English is a really hard language to learn. But classroom dynamics changed completely when we switched from The Sub to The Dragon. No more nonsense. Laughter got quieter and further apart. More eyes were rolling (just speaking for myself, not positive about the others.) But the thing that changed the most was how much we knew each other, how comfortable we were around each other.

That second week was when you could see the most changes.

When you spend almost 24 hours a day surrounded by people you just met, there comes a point where they're no longer strangers. Soon they become friends, then soon after that, they become family. And then they're just like your blood family, you never got to pick them, but you love them anyways. Yeah, you hate certain things they do, but then there's moments where you don't have a doubt in the world that they will have your back if you need them. That they will be there, that they HAVE been there when you needed them. We're young, give us 2 weeks and you won't be able to count all the tears. Pain, joy, love, you name an emotion, the tears were shed.

I've been texting one of my input brothers through most of the break (We're on THE LONGEST winter break EVER right now. Seriously, WHEN WILL IT END???) and he may not know it, but he's been there when I needed him. He's my Superstar. There was a moment I thought he was cute. And he is, super talented too, and he's going to amaze the world. And at that time, I'm gonna print out all the articles and make the kid an embarrassing scrapbook. I'm planning on being that person who brags about knowing someone before they were famous. But unlike those people, it won't because of some chance encounter.
Superstar is so smart, you would think he would stay in school, but at 16, he's too smart for them cookies. By the time he reaches 18, he'll have his GED, HS Diploma, and be a certified chef on his way to the music industry. They'll have no idea what hit them. And I'm going to be proud like a big sister, cause we're family now.

It's not like college. It's not like high school. It's it's own experience. The closest relation is probably boarding school. You enter as one person and you leave as a completely different person. At least, that's what I've been expecting. I was only there a month before break started, but it was more than enough. The people I met, the friendships that were created, that's some good stuff Maynard.

Story one of a million. And they're all connected :)

The Beginning

Bear with me here, I'm new at this. Okay, I've created blogs before, but never using my own words.

I got the best opportunity I could, just by being interested. I signed up for Job Corps, despite all the bad things people were saying about it. I knew I could make the best of my time by actually wanting to be there. People think it's a prison because of all the rules, but they're just trying to keep everyone safe. Maybe a couple rules are kinda silly, but we can't do much to change them.

A couple people suggested that I start this blog, documentations sake and all that jazz. So, these are my stories. If you know the story, and you know the people involved in the story, let them keep their anonymity, not everyone wants their name scattered among the rumors.

I'm not sure I'm going to be ANY good at this, but I'm willing to try!