June 28, 2014
State Prison Advice Continued
Prison info. /Advice: In the summer it gets very hot in prison. When I say that, I mean that there's nowhere to escape to and cool off. The cells get extremely hot, much hotter than outside. The cells are like saunas, containing the heat and humidity, baking us all in our own personal ovens. The cost of hygiene becomes drastically more expensive in the hot season. Having to shower two and three times in a day is necessary in order to wash the sweat and stench from our body, buying twice as much soap, deodorant, shampoo, etc. and still smelling like body odor at the end of the day. Then you have to buy twice as much laundry detergent and pay the guy that does the laundry twice as much. This is just a part of being a ward of the state that every inmate has to deal with. It's even worse when you work out every day, but working out is extremely important, especially as an inmate. In our down time we are all forced to sit down a lot, stuck in our cell with nowhere to go, leaving us inactive. If we don't move around and burn off calories when we get the chance, one is sure to gain weight, becoming more unhealthy with each passing day. Being unhealthy and overweight is extremely more difficult in the hot summer days then it is for someone who is healthy and fit. When I was 265 lbs., I would drip with sweat all day long, just sitting around doing nothing. The fat on my body made me feel twice as hot, leaving me unable to regulate temperatures as easily as someone in shape. This was just one of many reasons that I chose to get off of my butt, lose all that extra weight and get healthy. I'm a true believer that exercising your body is just as important as exercising your mind. If you’re on your way to prison, take my advice and do both. Strengthen your mind, body and soul, and also buy lots of soap and underwear for the summer.
Steven Dybvad
