Basketball Music and Clouds
When I was in OSH the first visit when I was 19 that only lasted a week as well as the three months I spent there in my mid-twenties, there were three basic things that got me through my stay. One is basketball, two is music, and three is clouds.
At Ohio state hospital in the area I stayed in there was a courtyard that was located in the center of the three buildings that held patients which we all had access to at various times in the day. In the middle of the courtyard there is a basketball court that initially had one hoop in 2014, but by 2015 they had added in two hoops across the court from each other. Similar to how a dog will look forward to a walk and going outside, I developed the same tendency with basketball. The first visit I played basketball so much that I wore the cartilage down in my knees. On our walks to and from the cafeteria I would be the first one to exist so I could take a couple shots before everyone transferred locations and we had access to the court and ball.
Second is music. One of the luxuries every resident at Jefferson state hospital receives is a headset, headphones that connect to various radio stations. At any time of the day in any place you could put on your headphones and escape for a moment in the music. I would listen to rap music and visualize myself in the life I desired.
Third is clouds. Residents had access to the courtyard three times a day, one of which is at sunset. The one thing that made me think was watching the sunset turn the clouds various shades of orange and as dusk set in I thought clouds are a consistency. The clouds I view now, I will view when I am free, and so I grew an attachment to watching clouds throughout the day and especially in the evening at sunset.