It’s important to realize that no matter what environment you find yourself in, whether you put yourself there or not, you still have choices to make about how you are going to interact, what behaviors you are going to engage in, and ultimately, whether or not you are going to use your time productively or negatively. It’s easy to get in trouble, it really is, but you know what…it’s even easier to stay out of trouble! At the end of each day, where you are at is most often where you put yourself and if you want to change those circumstances, you have to look at what got you where you are. Do some self-reflection, think about what causes you to do the things that you are doing, look at the choices you’ve made and what led you to make those choices, and don’t focus only on the bad stuff. I guarantee you’ve made good choices, we all do, but we have to keep making good choices. Don’t ever give up on yourself or your situation. I’ve been in prison since I was 14-years-old and I’m now 31, I have a life sentence and in all reality, I have no for sure release, ever. I still choose to live my life in as positive of a manner as I possibly can because I know it’s the right thing to do, and based on the poor decisions that I’ve made in my life, I owe my best for the rest of whatever days I have left on this plant. I don’t say that for sympathy or anything else other than empowerment. Don’t give up.

Trevor