I asked my good friend, David Applegate, to describe a day in his lift at Taft Prison Camp. Since David surrendered he has foucsed on making the most of the experience. He is a mentor to other prisoners, and he has taken the time to better understand some of the decisions that led him to prison. I am proud to share his work and to have him as a client. JP

“Groundhog Day In Federal Prison

That’s how many of my fellow inmates describe their days here at the Taft Federal Prison Camp: the Bill Murray movie where every day is EXACTLY the same. And it’s easy to fall into that trap. After all, meals are at the same time every day; we are counted at the same time every day; we see the same people every day; we are in the same space every day; and the list goes on….

While there is no doubt I have given up some control being here, I do still have choices. Most importantly, I can choose what attitude I will have each day and each moment. And I have chosen to make the most out of the time I have here. How often in life do we have no responsibility and a nearly unlimited amount of time to reflect on the choices we have made and the ones we want to make?

So I don’t have a “typical” day although there ARE certain things I do almost every day. I usually wake up around 6am and the first thing I do is tell myself, “I will live today with honesty and integrity and my heart will focus on love and not fear.” I also work out almost every day including a mixture of aerobic cross training, resistance training and core strengthening. It’s important to stay as healthy as possible. It’s also almost always sunny here so I get a good dose of Vitamin D as well which helps with mood and sleep.

I have taken a number of classes since I have been here; all of which are taught by inmates. Currently I am in classes on culinary arts, food service entrepreneurship, viticulture, stock option trading and poetry. It’s almost like being in college again – except without the tests and grades! I have read over 120 books in the 17 months I’ve been here. Many of these have been in the “self-help/philosophical/ spiritual” category and a handful of these have been truly transformative in terms of helping me identify my issues and become the best version of me possible. Most importantly, I work really hard on maintaining my network of friends and colleagues on the outside. Keeping my “real life” going helps keep me grounded and I am able to do this through snail mail, email and visits. I am also extremely fortunate that I am able to share my journey with my network as Justin Paperny hosts my blog on his others prison consulting website at Etikallc.com/DavidApplegateBlog.

I try and focus on the things for which I am grateful and the list is long. At the end of each day, I reflect on the good things that happened that day and the good things in my life. And every night before I fall asleep, I offer a prayer to keep my husband, Ken safe from harm and to keep us close.”