Going to prison changed my life. When I got into trouble I figured
that just sitting around in there wasn't going to get me anywhere. I could
use my time better than that. I'd always wanted to go back to school but
it was very hard to learn to sit down and concentrate. The way they ran
things at Spy Hill worked for me. I could study at my own pace instead
of having somebody there pushing me. On the other hand, I had trouble
with some of the stuff and needed the instructor's help. I studied for
six months and passed my GED (General Education Diploma) and pre-apprenticeship
math. This education got me my apprenticeship. I never used to look ahead
and now I want to do something with my life.
It wasn't always this way. I grew up on a reserve in Manitoba. When I was
about 6, we moved to the city. I was on my own a lot and there was nobody to
look after me. I moved back and forth from the city to the reserve and never
went to school much. Because I was abandoned, I was eventually adopted. Still,
it was hard to go to school as a teenager, especially when you were behind the
other kids. I dropped out before I finished grade eleven.
I want my kids to have an education. I don't want them to have the
kinds of jobs I've had to do -- very hard work and not much money. I
worked in construction, seasonal work with no security. My kids should
use their heads. I want them to go to university. My wife went back
to school after I did. Not that I take credit for that.
Maybe down the road I'll take accounting. The only thing I regret is not
going to school when I was younger. It's never too late and you're never too
old, to go back to school. If I had the chance for more schooling, I'd do it!
