1 year and 3 months: Stronger than yesterday

I've now been at this assessment center/training and treatment program for about a month. It will probably take them another 2 months to move me to the halfway house, but I'm hoping for shorter.

Honestly, I think everyone who is incarcerated should be exposed to a program like this one at some point. It may not benefit everyone, but it is at least aimed towards being positive and changing your life to accomplish your goals starting today. I mean, it's still up to each individual, and being chaotic and getting involved in drama here is just as easy as in prison. But if you want to make the most of any situation, you can.

I've been working out a lot recently as well as playing a little basketball whenever they let us outside for rec time. I figure I might as well try to get in shape now before I'll be busy in the halfway house going to classes and working, right? It's hard though because I love food too much and they hardly have many healthy options.

I truly am thankful for all the little things here though. For example, pore cleansing strips. I asked my mom to send me. You can't imagine how many blackheads were built up from all this time without proper face wash. My skin is still recovering little at a time as I get one step closer to freedom.

It's all the little things I'm still appreciating like never before that make me newly aware of more and more ways to think and stay positive about everything.

There's this one girl in my room that is just about the most depressing person I've met in here, and I feel bad she is wasting her life away. All she does is sleep (sometimes with all her clothes and even shoes on). She misses meals, meetings, hardly showers and is always complaining for the few minutes she does get up. I know she has issues, but she really wallows in her pain and its miserable to watch. When people try to talk to her, she ends up cursing and telling them to mind their own business. Her breath also stinks really bad, I smell it across the room when she speaks.

Anyhow, I think my game is getting better on the courts. I have like 4 bruises because they play so rough, but I'm ok. I'd like to get better, this is my first time playing with girls who are really good. That's because most of them here that play ball are like boys, but still.

Can't wait to get to the halfway house, but I know I have to have patience. It's a blessing I even made it this far and got the opportunity to leave prison for a halfway house, so I have to keep that in mind all the time.