In the criminal justice system, one can be convicted and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. The title of the video was “Don’t waste your life sentence.”  The inmates talked about the survival skills they had to acquire to mentally face the fact that in prison they would never see the outside world again. The term for the acceptance of that lifestyle is being institutionalized. The title caused me have thoughts about life and what we can achieve when we put our individual talents to work not only for ourselves but for society itself. I came to the conclusion we are all doing individual life sentences that continue until death.

While we all go through the ups and downs of life each person has the ability to improve their lot in life even those behind bars. Those of us on the other side of those bars tend to be prisoners of their minds. We put up mental barriers and sometimes even walls that prevent us from moving forward with what one can contribute to society and in our personal relationships. There is always room for improvement. Mankind has conquered mountain ranges, oceans, and the most of the environments on Earth.The only thing we cannot really explain is the human mind and how our thoughts affect our lives and those we care about. We are all serving life sentences if you think about it. Don’t waste your life sentence.