I have been reading, Michael Santos book “Conquering a 45-year sentence” and it has really got me thinking about all the things we go through in this rough system of prisons. It is helping to mold my mindset a little deeper. I just hate how these places shuffle us around like we are not humans. Like we are some kind of cattle or something. At times I feel animals get treated better than us. The system and its employees do not care about our well-being. They do not care whether we do right or wrong. They do not care if we educate ourselves or have the skills and tools necessary to make a life once we get out of this place. It is up to us to use this time wisely to better ourselves by our own choices to take advantage of any programs or self-study. I love education and studying. I have tried my best to mentor or help other people throughout my incarceration which is almost 17 years. Like Michael when I tell people the time I have done they sometimes get amazed. They can not believe I have done that much time already. I am not bitter or rude. I try to make the best of each day and still have a life and help people while I am here. I was at a prison in Dublin, California for 15 years and BOP decided to close it pretty much out of nowhere due to so many issues and lawsuits at that prison. Now I have been transferred to Aliceville, Alabama. Very far from home and the West Coast. I have only been here for about 4 months. It was hard for me to readjust my daily routines and start doing basic things at this prison. The atmosphere here is totally different. The people are different and the way this place is run is much different then in California. It seems like higher security although it is a low-security prison. They lock us down in our cells very often. Something I am not use to. The doors at Dublin were never locked. They do not lock. It was a regular wooden door with a knob and they never locked us in. They just told us to go to our room and we complied. The weather is different and it makes it hard for me to workout. There is a lot of humidity and the heat is unbearable to walk even to the dining hall on some days, let alone work out. The thing that frustrates me is having to wait in the sun for about 15 minutes just to get in. Pass a metal detector and risk the detector going off and not being able to get it. You have 3 tries if it goes off you go around again pass again at the third try if it goes off you go back to the unit and miss Rec. Adjusting to this new environment has been hard. I have to constantly tell myself I have to get out of my mind and continue doing things I like despite it being much more difficult to get things done here. I have to continue working on my goals regardless of where BOP places me. Reading Michael’s story has really got me in a thinking and reflecting mode on getting things done regardless of where BOP places me. I am trying to get creative and just work with what I have here. I was recently told I will be transferring again and now I am not as scared to move. I am hopeful this time it will be to a Camp. I have 0 custody points. I pray I do and am looking forward to it. This move has made me see another prison and the need for better ways for women to do their time. We need better food, education, better living conditions, and incentives to reduce our time in these places. Without this move, I would have not seen something different.
