My name is Ethan. I am a 31-year-old Aboriginal man from the Palawa mob. I am currently at the Melbourne Assessment Prison (MAP). I have been here for about two months now. This time since I have been in prison, I have been incident-free. It's a big thing for me to be incident-free in prison. Before this, I spent the last two and a half years in the slot at Port Phillip and Barwon. The thing that has helped me this sentence to keep out of trouble is painting. I love doing art, it helps me with my mental health and my depression a lot. Without my art, I would be struggling.
Since your magazine/paper has been coming to our unit, I have wanted to send a picture of my artwork I did on the large concrete pillar in the common area of our unit. But it has taken me four months to get approval to get photos taken of it. I would love to send a copy of your paper to my family to show them I am coping okay in here. Even if telling my story of how doing painting can help with mental health or even depression. If it helps even one person, I'm a happy man. Because before I started painting, I was really struggling a lot with my mental health. When I paint, I'm not in prison anymore. I'm lost for hours in my artwork. If I paint for one hour a day, I'm not in prison for that one hour, and if I paint for six hours, I'm not in prison for that six hours. And to see what people can create when they put their minds to it, it's crazy. If you don't like to paint, then even try poetry. The more hours you spend doing something creative, the less time you will see in prison. There is something for everyone if you look hard enough, you will find something that gives you enjoyment. Maybe if you like to read, then get some books from the library. If you don't read, try going to the gym. If you're at a prison where you can cook for yourself, try baking cakes. Anyway, what I'm saying is the more time you spend in prison doing things you like, the quicker the time will go.
I have started doing another design on another concrete pillar in our unit. When it's completed, I will send a picture over to you.
Thank you for your time reading this. And thank you for giving me and the other blokes something good to read here.
My name is Ethan. I am a 31-year-old Aboriginal man from the Palawa mob. I am currently at the Melbourne Assessment Prison (MAP). I have been here for about two months now. This time since I have been in prison, I have been incident-free. It's a big thing for me to be incident-free in prison. Before this, I spent the last two and a half years in the slot at Port Phillip and Barwon. The thing that has helped me this sentence to keep out of trouble is painting. I love doing art, it helps me with my mental health and my depression a lot. Without my art, I would be struggling.
Since your magazine/paper has been coming to our unit, I have wanted to send a picture of my artwork I did on the large concrete pillar in the common area of our unit. But it has taken me four months to get approval to get photos taken of it. I would love to send a copy of your paper to my family to show them I am coping okay in here. Even if telling my story of how doing painting can help with mental health or even depression. If it helps even one person, I'm a happy man. Because before I started painting, I was really struggling a lot with my mental health. When I paint, I'm not in prison anymore. I'm lost for hours in my artwork. If I paint for one hour a day, I'm not in prison for that one hour, and if I paint for six hours, I'm not in prison for that six hours. And to see what people can create when they put their minds to it, it's crazy. If you don't like to paint, then even try poetry. The more hours you spend doing something creative, the less time you will see in prison. There is something for everyone if you look hard enough, you will find something that gives you enjoyment. Maybe if you like to read, then get some books from the library. If you don't read, try going to the gym. If you're at a prison where you can cook for yourself, try baking cakes. Anyway, what I'm saying is the more time you spend in prison doing things you like, the quicker the time will go.
I have started doing another design on another concrete pillar in our unit. When it's completed, I will send a picture over to you.
Thank you for your time reading this. And thank you for giving me and the other blokes something good to read here.
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I have been incarcerated for 22 months of a four-year sentence in Queensland jails. This poem is about my own situation.
Reading other prisoner’s stories inspired me to keep my head up and keep going now four months in, thank you all who share your stories and words of wisdom.
I moved units about a month ago and we feed some stray cats here. One even let me pat her last night! It's been over a year since I've patted an animal, so you can imagine how excited I was!
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