New here - tell me your reasons for writing

Welcome Athena! I hope you create some long lasting friendships via your letters!

Why did I decide to write? A few reasons.  The main one was that I felt a sense of imprisonment myself, due to my chronic illness and (mostly) housebound life.  The disconnect from society was (and is) very real - so I figured inmates understand that better than most.  Also just wanted some new friendships, that were incredibly open, honest, and free of any judgement.  Be nice to make a small positive difference in someone else's life too. 

So far I feel like I've been achieving all those things and it has been a really rewarding experience! :)

@GalapagosDiver those feelings are real... I have anxiety, depression and irritable bowel which doesn't let me participate in the community as much as I normally would, so I share my sense of community here and with other people in prison.

I don't feel a need to do it out of a sense of feeling sorry for people, I do it because I have a wealth of lived experience I can share with others to help get people through....

@FrankieBones - Sorry to hear that mate.  It's great to be able somewhat channel those things into something productive like this.  I also don't feel the need to it out of a sense of feeling sorry for others.  I feel like both me and my penpals have got a lot out of the experiences so far.

It is... You're always here doing a good thing so remember that kid... Keep fighting the good fight.

Mostly because I was curious, and also because I'd be depressed, alone, and scared if I were in prison. I want to help make someone's day brighter. A lot of people forget that some people eventually leave prison and have the rest of their lives to live. I rather they not have a cloud hanging over them the entire time while they are waiting for the big day. 

Welcome!

I actually wasn’t looking to write to prisoners, or to anyone. I found the website while doing some prison googling (lol) and after the initial “wtf?”, thought it was an excellent idea. If you could make someone’s day that little bit better by writing a letter, why wouldn’t you? Plus, the art of letter writing has been lost these days.

I’ve written to quite a few people, most have fizzled out as the connection hasn’t been there, which is to be expected, can’t be a good fit for everyone. But I have a really good connection with 3 of mine, one has my heart completely :) 

Thank you for the warm welcome Galapagos!  I like your screen name!  I’m glad to hear you met some new friends and also very glad to hear you wanted to go into something without any judgement.  I know this can be a judgemental world but I firmly believe people who judge others are not friends, they are just trying to make up for their own inadequate thoughts on themselves.  It sounds like you turned your situation with having an illness into something positive in life and helped others, which is awesome.  It takes grit to be kind in this world (-:

That’s awesome Jay!  I agree, and I know for every gloom and doom article about prisoners, so many DO succeed and do well in life after their incarceration.  

That’s awesome Jay!  I agree, and I know for every gloom and doom article about prisoners, so many DO succeed and do well in life after their incarceration.  

Aww!  Okay, I’m a girl so I have to hear about the having your heart story, if you want to tell about it ! (-: I think that’s sweet, people used to meet like that so long ago, through writing letters and art, so I love it when people meet in a very old fashioned way.  And definitely, I wrote to people looking for friends only who wanted to talk about books, art, and music to distract themselves from negativity, but I know everyone connects in a different way.  Some people we are simply intertwined with and we were meant to be a part of their lives. 

Why did I decide to write? That's a good question, my background is in criminal justice and psychology. I've always studied the forefront of crime, and unfortunately with that you stop seeing people, and only see crime. That's when I got interested in the corrections side of things, more specifically what types of programs were available to inmates (if any) to help ready them to join society. I was going to shift my career focus in that direction when I met my husand who is serving life without the possibility of parole. I essentially "sunk my battleship" with joining the corrections side, but I gained the love of my life and my absolute best friend.

Hi all! Brand new here! I actually wrote for the first time a decade ago after watching a prison show and feeling pretty horrified at the conditions. I figured everyone needs companionship and an opportunity to express themselves. Unfortunately at that time I panicked and asked WAP not to send that letter! I've always thought about it and regretted it and now a decade later I'm writing regularly to two different inmates since about September. I'm really glad I worked up the nerve because it's been a huge positive in my life and, so I'm told, theirs. I'm glad this forum exists because it's definitely a taboo and it's really good to read others' experiences!

Hi loe31 I’m glad your having a good experience and you decided to write :-) I wish you the best of luck, your always gonna come across good and bad just like on the outside but enjoy :-) 

My story is similar to BabyBlueEyes'. Accidentally found my way here, initial thought was "Umm.. why?", got curious and looked for more info, read some of the ads and really started to like the idea. I have only sent out my first letter today so we'll see where it goes. 
I'm more of an introvert type of a person and although I do enjoy spending time with people, I find it difficult to open up, to dig deep, even with the closest and dearest. Pouring my mind into paper(or computer) has always felt easier for me than speaking out my mind. So the idea of getting to know someone and letting someone in through mail seems nice. Also I find it super interesting to share thoughts with someone with a completely different setting going on in their life, there's just so much to learn and hopefully to give. Why inmates then? I can imagine I would feel lonely and bored in prison and would certainly reach out to have connections outside. If my friendship can better one (or more) of these peoples' lives, I want to give it a try. 

Probably due to all these reasons I got a strong feeling that I should really try this out. So I did. 

Hi Kelly! Thanks so much for the kind words. I did actually have one not so great experience early on but forums like this help so much with "getting back on the horse". I feel like I hit the jack pot with my current pen pals, both really kind genuine people. I've even written to a couple more so we'll see how that goes! 

I began to write, 'cause it was a way I found of improve a "moral imperfection" and a terrible prejudice I carried with me for years.

I am from Brazil, and unfortunately, like many other brazilians I always repeated the old (and sad) speech (which unfortunately is very used in Brazil): "good criminal, it's a dead criminal".

I said this speech at the same time that I followed (and still follow) a brazilian religion called "Umbanda," which preaches peace, love, charity and forgiveness to all individuals, no matter what!

I saw how hypocritical I was by repeating old violent cliches.

I know writing was the best thing I could have done: I met some amazing people. Humans beings, who like me, feel joy; sadness; fear; make plans for the future; has dreams and so on.

I learned to respect the human beings, not judge their actions, and especially, to understand, that all of us, human beings that are here on this planet, to evolve spiritually, and if we can build good things by helping our brothers, we're also helping ourselfs.

I say that writing for these incredible guys helps me everyday, and I have them as true friends, that I really love, so much!

I think is that (:

P.S: sorry my bad english