"My life's going nowhere," he said with a sigh.
"I'm locked up in prison for the third time."

"While you're here, go to school," I advised the young man.
"Use your time wisely; get ahead, make a plan."

"I did drugs on the outs, crystal **** and *******,
loved getting high, never feeling any pain."

"Well, you're clean while you're here, let's get some work done.
Learn some English and math, nouns and verbs, Algebra 1."

"I wish I'd finished high school when I had the chance.
This work is much harder!" He fidgeted, like ants in his pants.

Situation Normal All Fouled Up, like so many, frustrated. General Situation, reporting for duty.