Life Behind Prison Walls

Life behind Prison Walls

Growing up as a child I loved sports. I can remember always working hard; believe it or not I started working when I was eight years old. I did not have the normal life of other kids. While other kids were out playing, and day dreaming about what they want to be when they grow up. I was working hard and trying to make money to help my mom take care of my younger brother and sisters. I never really knew what I wanted to do when I got old, but I never thought I would end up in prison. Life behind prison walls is nothing like your typical day. In prison you have to always be observant of the people and your surroundings because there is always something going on.

Many people say “you never miss what you have until it is gone,” well this is true. I never realized how just something as simple as coming and going means so much, until I ended up in prison. I could not believe that I had made decisions that sent me to prison, this controlled environment, with no way out. Every day that I spent behind prison walls seemed like two days in the outside world. The days in prison seemed so long.

In prison things you took for granted mean the most. I could not spend time with my family. I was told what to do and when to do it. Every morning when I woke up I would see a fence with razor wires all around me. The doors closing and locking were so loud; you would hear a loud bam followed by the click of the locks. I heard this sound every night and for 8 years, 8 months, and 7 days that is a sound that I never got use to hearing.

Growing up I never experienced a lot of things, never went many places, or met many people. In prison all of this changed, there were different races and people from all walks of life. I must admit I was scared; I met individuals that had been there for many years and others that were new to the environment just like me. I also met some that had learned their lesson and was ready to...