"Never Look Into Someone's Cell As You Walk By," And 27 Other Secrets, Tricks, And Lessons Former Inmates Learned While Incarcerated
Recently, we asked the members of the BuzzFeed Community who've been previously incarcerated to tell us what they learned during their time in prison.
Here's what they revealed in their submissions:
1."I learned how to make a tampon out of a pad."
"They didn't allow you to have tampons, only pads, which I hate, so I made money on the side making them for other girls. All you have to do is pull the top lining and bottom off, then take the inside and twist it, add the top lining back on, and leave enough for a little string."
—Anonymous
2."Never accept anything from anyone if you're new — it means they own you and you are now theirs."
—Anonymous
3."When you show up at a new facility or housing unit, make sure you're last in line on your first trip to chow — ALL TABLES AND SEATS ARE SPOKEN FOR."
"You must learn to politely integrate. Find an empty seat and ask if you can sit."
—Anonymous
4."We used a pencil and Vaseline to make eyeliner."
"The women in prison are very clever. Women's prison is different than men's, so no one really made weapons."
—Anonymous
5."If the front of someone's boot is flat, they most likely have a plastic shank made from the tip of the boot."
"And if the metal detector goes off when someone walks through, then they have a metal shank."
—Anonymous
6."Work camps really are better for prisoner behavior than just minimum security."
"When I was in minimum, within a week I was moving contraband across campus and falling back into street behavior. Once I got to the work camp, it was so different. It was very chill, and outside of our assigned jobs, we all had a lot of fun hanging out. To think there were women from the minimum security literally breaking their ankles to not be sent to work camp still baffles me."
—Anonymous
7."People wash their sheets, blankets, and clothing in the toilet."
—Anonymous
8."Always mind your own business, and limit opinions concerning sports."
—Anonymous
9."Incarceration makes you really look at yourself."
"The most painful transition is when you first arrive. This transition can take months. You don't have easy access to those on the outside, and when you do, it's painful. And when you first arrive, you don't know anyone — you don't know what their motives are even if you want to 'befriend' them. It's a very lonely time...one hopefully filled with remorse, regret, and constant survival mode."
—Anonymous
10."Mailing stamps are considered currency and are used for purchasing anything."
—Anonymous
11."You can use an iron to make grilled cheese sandwiches, burritos, bagels, etc."
—Anonymous
12."Never walk too close to anybody, and don't walk through crowds."
—Anonymous
13."When a towel is hanging over a shower curtain, it is reserved for a guy who is 'holding' the shower stall while he is self-serving himself in a toilet stall."
—Anonymous
14."The days are long and slow, but the years go by quicker."
—Anonymous
15."Don't look into other people's cells as you walk by."
—Anonymous
16."Never accept any gifts without expecting to pay them back at some point.”
"No one is going to give you a Honey Bun out of the deep love in their heart for you. You will be carrying something up your poop shoot in return. We can always tell when a new person arrives, and we all know they have no idea what they're getting into. They all think they need to make a friend as soon as possible. That guy is not your friend. You make friends over the course of time, not in the first five minutes of being there."
—Anonymous
17."You can make hooch out of oranges, fruit cups, fruit juice, yeast, and sugar from commissary."
—Anonymous
18."There is no place wherein politeness and civility matter more than in prison."
"Angry, frustrated people shoved into close quarters is a powder keg, so nowhere is it more important to make sure that someone knows a stepped-on-foot or a shove was accidental and unintentional. You apologize for missteps, and it's not weakness if done properly."
—Anonymous
19."Petroleum jelly, a lotion bottle, toilet paper, the bottom of the metal closet, a drop of shampoo, and alcohol from alcohol pads makes tattoo ink."
—Anonymous
20."I learned to be bored."
"Jail is boring — like, really, really boring. Most of my days were spent not doing much of anything, and when COVID hit, we were locked in 23 hours a day. It taught me to sit with myself and be okay with that."
—Anonymous
21."You don't change the TV channel without the permission of the inmate in charge of the TV room."
—Anonymous
22."I learned how to sew to make my clothes fit better."
"I'd make my pants tighter and craft these little purses that were really cute to carry because jail clothes are NOT cute."
—Anonymous
23."I learned to meditate."
"I practiced every day and learned to calm myself while surrounded by screaming, yelling, and other noises."
—Anonymous
24."Having your freedoms taken away weighs heavy on the soul for years afterwards."
"A lot of us have PTSD from it, which no one cares about."
—Anonymous
25."I learned to truly value the time spent with your loved ones."
"In a matter of hours, my whole life changed, and now I'll have to wait 10 years to hug my family members."
—Anonymous
26."I learned how to make the least last when you already have very little."
—Anonymous
27."You can make tamales out of crushed-up tortilla chips and water."
—Anonymous
And lastly:
28."I learned not to judge people before getting to know them. You never know when you’ll be in their shoes."
—Anonymous
Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
