Wesley approached me after Corrections class today. He's one of the first criminology students I've actually had words with that advanced beyond a greeting (though I sense more and more that I'll bond with a few more this year as we share more classes and experiences together). After a few small words, he surprised me with his casual question:

So, are you graduating now or in the fall?

I have 1.5 or 2 years remaining at UF, and Wesley definitely did not expect such a response. No one confuses me as a 22-year-old because I'm a 19-year-old youngster who looks like he's just entered adulthood. In my criminology courses, I'm the minority among a group of twenty-somethings, living twenty-something lives, some even married and settled in a little house like Wesley. It hit me why he assumed I was one of the majority: I started the intense portion of my major far earlier than the norm. I've now had three 4000-level criminology courses with Wesley, so he gathered that I was finalizing toward my degree. In actuality I'm only now becoming an experienced student in this program.

Why did I push myself into these studies faster than recommended? I love criminology. The classes stimulate me. The case studies get me high. I bathe in details of a criminal's path of destruction, not because I'm a blood-lusting psycho, but rather to uncover anything that could symbolize the cause for an unfortunate descention into crime. I want to deeply search the criminal's mind, find the true sources of his plight, and develop any practices that could prevent such a life from torturing another beautiful being. Crime is tragic and attacks the heart of society. Can I help a lost individual improve his life and, in turn, improve my society?

I'm studying to discover the possibilities.