About a month ago I decided to join a program that allows me to be penpals with men and women in prison. When I told my family what I was doing they had that jaw dropping look. "Why would you want to do that?" Is the question I hear most of the time....so let me clear it up for everyone!
I enjoy writing letters. I enjoy receiving letters. I also enjoy helping people. With this program I'm doing all three of those things at the same time. Plus it makes me feel really good. When I get their letters and they tell me about themselves and how happy they are to receive my letter it makes me feel like what I'm doing makes them happy...even if it's just for that 20 minutes they spend reading my letter and writing me back.
Not all people in jail are horrible people. Now don't get your panties in a bunch....I'm not saying we should let them all out either. I simply think that being in jail they're paying their debt to society and we shouldn't just write them off as horrible people. They're trying to make things right and we should have an open mind when looking at who they really are.
It's amazing to me how reading their letters can make me feel so lucky. It makes me remember how lucky I am to have a family, to have a place to live, and friends who care about me.
Most of the guys I write to tell me a lot about how they grew up and how that affected the things they did....which led to their being in prison. I read about all the bad stuff they went through and it make me grateful that I live in a nice neighborhood and that I have a mom and a dad who love me.
So when I talk to someone and I tell them I'm pen pals with people in jail I don't care that they don't like it! We look at these men in prison like they're so horrible when really a lot of them are in there working to turn their lives around. They go to church services and work on their education. I think its extremely admirable to take such a bad situation and turn it into a positive.
The guy I write to most often is extremely intelligent. He also tells me about how when he gets out he wants to help people. He wants to be able to take care of his family. He also tells me about how proud he is to have me as a friend.
It makes me feel so good knowing that he appreciates me taking a little bit of my time to write to him. Not all of the men in prison are bad people. They have hopes and dreams just like the rest of us. So why is everyone so quick to judge them?
I actually think its really funny. A lot of people think I'm a judgmental person and I'm not going to lie I am to some degree...but I'm working on it. But those same people were the ones whose eyes almost popped out of their heads when I told them I'm pen pals with these men in jail. Seriously guys....isn't that being judgmental?
