Prison, to many people, is a place of filth, immorality, and disgust. This place represents the abysmal darkness of society and humanity, where it is ubiquitously recognized as the end of the future of any human being. In “An Education While Incarcerated,”  the protagonist, Eddy Zhang, however, refuses to accept the negation from the public, educating  himself to become an influential social reformer after spending seven years in jail. During his incarceration, Zhang never loses faith in his life but constantly reminds himself of the goodliness of the world where he enriches himself by studying different kinds of knowledge. To him, prison is not the end of his future but the start of “redemption from tremendous harm. ”

                   To the Asian community, a prisoner is related to all the worst facets of humanity, and such status could have a profoundly destructive impact on the relationship within the family and the connection to the community. When he first heard of the news that Eddy Zhang was accused of sixteen felony counts, including kidnapper, his father was too “ashamed” to “face the Chinese community” and decided not to tell anyone. In Chinese society, reputation is probably the most important thing in the community where everyone strives for a better reputation just because they do not want to lose face. Even with all the critics from other people, Eddy Zhang chooses to discard them by changing his perspective and becoming “macho and show[ing] no fear” of reality. Personally, I cannot imagine how my parents will react, and my relatives will comment on me for being in jail. Such an idea comes from nowhere but my insecurity from fearing not becoming successful where such an internal pressure becomes so intense that sometimes I fail to balance myself from such a mental conflict. Thinking of the story of Eddy, I realize that it is time to change my ingrained values towards life and face my fear of failure.

              Not only does Eddy becomes an open-minded and liberal person but also a persevering individual. Through keeping a routine of studying, Eddy “lives with a constant sense of anticipation, ” which encourages him to stay tight to his study plan. His story reminds me of Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers who underwent a similar experience as Eddy. Starting from an apprentice of a carpenter, Franklin never loses hope to become great and always stays persistent despite mistakes, failures and hardships. It is never the innate traits that make great people great but the process and experiences that mould them with greatness. Furthermore, the experience in prison reminds Eddy of all the support he has from his friends and families and the accomplishments he has achieved that makes him “no longer drifting in the endless sea” but faith and hope that keeps him up to the end of incarceration. In contemporary times, youngsters, including me, commonly fail to recognize the assistance from others, our achievements from ourselves and the beauty of life. It is time to stop anxiety, insecurity, and depression from now and embrace beauty, love, and hope in future.