January 17, 2015
I must admit that not having to think of a new blog entry every single day has alleviated a bit of stress from my daily life in prison and enabled me to focus more on other things, such as responding to emails from friends and family sooner than before. I've written my blog every day for the last, I'd say 3 1/2 years, with only a couple of breaks away from it. Sometimes writing is easy for me, but it can also be difficult at times just to think about a topic to write about. This way I can write when I really have something good to write about, or should I say when there's something on my mind, not just having to conjure up a topic for accountability purposes. In the beginning I really needed to write every day in order to stay focused on my goals, ease some worries and concerns my loved ones may have had in the beginning of my sentence for what I may have been doing with my time, my safety, people I was associating with, etc. Now my daily life in prison is stable enough that I know what I have to do in preparation for my future after release, my loved ones know that my life is goal oriented, I've documented my entire journey through these prisons, facing adversities, holding strong, never giving in to powerful pressures from my peers to do such things as pay for protection, join a gang for protection, use drugs, get tattoos, or break any other rules or laws made by prison and state. My lengthy sobriety has brought the morals, values, ethics and love for life and family bubbling back to the surface, I use it as my driving force for all decisions I make, whether big or small, I first take a look at the immediate and long-term consequences for my choices, and writing in this blog has had a major impact on the decisions I make each day in here. I'm forever grateful to the people in my life that have shown me this path and laid out the groundwork, paving the way for myself and others, opening my eyes once again to a better life and future.
Steven Dybvad
