There’s a term in economics called opportunity cost. It’s what you miss out on when you choose to do one particular thing over another. E.g., if you pass on overtime at work to do something person, the opportunity cost would be the extra money you would have earned. Well, here in prison hardly anyone pays attention to this concept. Every spare hour spent hanging out, bullshitting, causing trouble, and chasing cheap gratification (like garbage on TV) has an opportunity cost of the education you could be giving yourself. Education is kind of the keystone to the project you make of your life. What you know determines what you can be. What you know determines your opportunities. So there isn’t a single more important investment of your time than educating yourself. And that is something you do practically for free, even in prison. It requires only discipline and effort.
Dan Turner
DOC# 767569
