ISSUE NO. 14
September 2025
ISSUE NO. 14
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September 2025
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Letters

Mistakes

By
Anthony

Anthony writes from a prison in NSW.

Willy Pleasance

Mistakes are made. Sometimes we don’t always know why or how these mistakes are made. Mistakes can’t be taken back. However, we can learn from them.

Sometimes they are minor, but sometimes they can also be major. Minor mistakes can often be fixed with an apology or a way of showing remorse. Major mistakes, can these be fixed so easily? No, not always. It does mean you have to work harder, earn back respect or earn back trust.

In 2024 I made a major mistake which landed me in prison. This cost me everything – everyone I love turned their back on me, and everything I owned was stolen. This was the worst time of my life.

You can’t turn back time, nor can it be erased. While I’m here, I’m losing time and I’ll never get it back. Although it’s 100 percent my fault that I’m here, while I am here it makes it hard to prove to the ones I care about the most how sorry I really am.

It also makes it hard to earn the trust back, also to earn the love and respect back.

The part I hate the most is I can prove to the justice system how sorry I am, how remorseful I am or even how much I’ve changed, but the justice system wasn’t the ones I hurt.

Then sometimes as we get older we realise that we only get one chance at getting things right, like being a good husband, father or friend. These are the times that there is no room for mistakes.

Mistakes are made. Sometimes we don’t always know why or how these mistakes are made. Mistakes can’t be taken back. However, we can learn from them.

Sometimes they are minor, but sometimes they can also be major. Minor mistakes can often be fixed with an apology or a way of showing remorse. Major mistakes, can these be fixed so easily? No, not always. It does mean you have to work harder, earn back respect or earn back trust.

In 2024 I made a major mistake which landed me in prison. This cost me everything – everyone I love turned their back on me, and everything I owned was stolen. This was the worst time of my life.

You can’t turn back time, nor can it be erased. While I’m here, I’m losing time and I’ll never get it back. Although it’s 100 percent my fault that I’m here, while I am here it makes it hard to prove to the ones I care about the most how sorry I really am.

It also makes it hard to earn the trust back, also to earn the love and respect back.

The part I hate the most is I can prove to the justice system how sorry I am, how remorseful I am or even how much I’ve changed, but the justice system wasn’t the ones I hurt.

Then sometimes as we get older we realise that we only get one chance at getting things right, like being a good husband, father or friend. These are the times that there is no room for mistakes.

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Welcome to About Time

About Time is the national newspaper for Australian prisons and detention facilities

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