McKenzie Hoover was skeptical when she heard that a group of inmates would be speaking at her school.

“;I felt that it was counterproductive,”; she said.

But the 11th-grader at La Pietra School for Girls has a different opinion after watching “;Prison Monologues,”; a theatrical production based on the works of Women's Community Correctional Center inmates from the book “;Hulihia: Writings from Prison.”;

“;As they started to speak and I heard what they had to say, I realized that they wanted to reach out and not be that typical prisoner,”; McKenzie said.

Particularly inspiring, she said, was prisoner Xavia Ellisor, who spoke of killing someone while driving drunk.

“;One night abolished her whole life, and that could happen to anyone,”; said McKenzie.

Ellisor had worked a double shift, then gone drinking with friends.

“;I cared more about what people thought, about my image,”; she related. “;I never thought about hurting someone, much less killing someone.”;

But she did kill someone - Cristina Galutira, in a three-car crash in 2006.

Before that, she said, she was a college student with everything: a 2-year-old son, new car, good job. “;I want people to know that you can live a totally privileged life and something like this can happen to you just by making the wrong choice,”; she said. “;When I get out of prison, my son will be a freshman. I'll have missed his whole childhood. I can attribute that to a night of making bad choices.”;

Yesterday was the first time “;Prison Monologues”; had been performed outside prison. The suggestion to do so came from inmate Cynthia Williams.

“;I've been in and out of prison for 13 years ... now I have 11 more to go,”; Williams said. “;It starts out with silly things - sharing a beer with a friend when you are 12 or sneaking a cigarette. Next thing you know, you are smoking weed, doing drugs and living in a cardboard box downtown.”;

Another inmate, Daphne Hookano, said she isn't looking for sympathy, but hopes that the kids will hear - and heed - her message.

“;Prison is a scary place to be,”; she said. “;It takes away your freedom and it takes you away from your family. I went to college and had a good job, but drugs became my thing. I took a hit off a pipe and now I'm a recovering addict.”;

She told the students, “;I want to take you on a journey through a life that started out normal, but somewhere in time turned chaotic, worthless and desperate. I was trapped in a powerless, unmanageable addiction that has wasted two-thirds of my life.”;

The students did seemed engrossed in the inmates' stories, which included a final monologue from Ellisor:

“;I sit here on my rock-hard bed and read the words of hope, love and fear scratched into its post by previous tenants. It's a good thing I can live in my mind and not in this place. The walls here are unfriendly, cold and dirty. Gray plastic bins hold all my possessions at an arm's reach from my bed. We are allowed six bras, six panties, 10 books and five letters from our loved ones. This little bit is everything. This is prison.”;