Everyday formerly incarcerated people are changing the narrative. Especially long term INcarcerated people.
It is our actions you watch closest.

To the half of you who are; Expecting us to fail.

You’d like us to FUCK UP so you could continue your normalcy façade.

And some of you even try to make sure we go back.

Then You turn it around. You say we are not trying.

You judge us on our past

You say no to every opportunity.

You hate when we achieve because we break every stereotypes you had.

Next your questioning all your beliefs.

Good? You should!!!

I should we all should question our beliefs.

Most of our ideas were impressed upon us by others.

We need to rewrite the negative messages we were given about ourselves and others.

We need to x out the false assumptions.

Every day I wake up in the morning

With the goal to challenge any preconceived ideas people have.

People ask, “what’s wrong with the world ?”

But no one is asking what’s wrong with me?

Sure you’re pointing their fingers those of us living with a record because you think you know about us.

We wear our crimes like a scarlet letter with the newspaper articles permanently etched on the internet.

It’s funny how people say, “once a criminal always a criminal”

Not realizing the difference between us and you, is we got caught.

Let’s start being honest…

To those of you who doubt that, “inmates never change”

I’ll tell you the first thing I had to change was me. My mind. The way I thought. The way I saw shit.

When advising others we like to say – “You can’t change others, you can only change ourselves.”

But are we changing ourselves?

People go on diets, they tan, Their change hairstyles , their jobs, their cars, their bank accounts, their habits, their wardrobes and they change their lovers, their friends, their environments..

But where ever they go, they go.

why doesn’t humans realize the most valuable thing we can change is our minds.

When our minds change our hearts change.

But the #1 part of our minds thar needs to change is rigid and prefixed ideas?

Only those that first acknowledge they have prejudices and implicit bias.

One might not know recognize or acknowledge that they even have false ideas.

Because We are familiar with our own ideas they live in our minds daily, they were developed there we are attached to the way we think. Our ideas our opinions we have to defend them daily but what we don’t recognize is we have a bias to our own thoughts- they are one sighted.

Going to jail and being exposed to hundreds and hundreds of other people and hearing their stories and about their lives and what lead them there, has broadened my perspective and undone many stereotypes I may have previously been lead to believe.

Between the people I met I saw our similarities especially. Not just where we landed but that we all had trauma. I met some of the best people in the world in prison.

Although we were called criminal most of us were there because of the worst 5 minutes of our lives.

And those who came in and out who I judged in the beginning. I thought they must have liked it there to keep coming back to prison.

But the truth was I was a first time offender serving 30 years in prison I didn’t know shit about what it was like to go home.

But once I did my perspective expanded some more. I learned about the collateral damage of living with a criminal record.

I saw first hand what it was like to yes get the job in spite of your record, but be talked to and treated horribly by your employer because he knew it would be hard for you to get another job with your charges.

See people throughout my life have challenged my preconceived ideas. I proudly admit I was wrong to judge those women coming back in,

I like many should not judge situations I’ve no experience with.

This is why some of you wait for formerly INcarcerated people to fail.

Because you’re falsely judging us by straight up shit you have no clue about.

Simply so you can tout- “I told ya so”

And all the crap you talked could be justified.

It’s not that formerly incarcerated people don’t change.

We do.

You simply won’t validate it.

By giving us real second chances.

At jobs

At housing

At equality.

Understand that it is you’re thinking that keeps the world from evolving.

Understand it is your thinking that is keeping you from becoming better.

So yes I wake up every day to challenge the narrative. It ain’t History or Herstory. It’s our story.

If we open our minds. We can free the world

Starting with ourselves

Even those of you who don’t realize how restricted your thinking is.