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pg. 1 -Submission- "Progress through Pain" Monday 8/17/2020 We’ve been on modified lock-down status for <6> months now with no definite end in sight, which is driving me crazy! Me and my cellmate are beggining to argue about little things that wouldn’t have even popped up on our radar before this prolonged Covid-19 lock-down. To top it off, the Canteen Supervisor quit due to too many grievances filed on him, so we haven’t been able to order store, as we call it. I honestly don’t know if I can stay optimistic all the time as I have been but I have to try if I want to maintain my sanity or I’ll contribute to the problem, that’s what I struggle with on a daily basis. Last night, Sunday, 16th, 2020 there was a riot between officers and inmates where <5> officers were stabbed and <2> inmates injured due to tensions about visits from family stopped, extended lock-down, no more free Covid-19 phone calls, packages delayed and canteen issues. With all that happening, tempers were bound to escalate to what it did. Maybe everyone, including the prison staff, is frustrated because of this, I don’t know, I can only assume. I’ve been studying self-help and Covid-19 hand-outs trying to get my mind to see and understand how to cope with coronavirus issues on both sides of the fence. My problem is communicating my thoughts verbally. That is another hurdle I have to practice by trial and error to get use to doing with good results most of the time, hopefully. pg. 2 I never had the skills for conflict resolution, plus I didn’t want to know because I got more results from aggression but now I realize that that way wasn’t really productive in truelly resolving those matters, it caused future strife. Like the saying goes “there’s always a better way to handle things” Maybe suffering through these Covid-19 days has made me stronger and smarter because I’ve had more time to think on things that I use to just react without thinking to. Blessing in disguise, I guess. Hopefully the results at the end of this Covid Lockdown <Unknown> will result in me being a better, stronger well-balanced individual that can handle any situation. One day at a time, one day at a time, is all I can do. Well, I’ll end this here but I will write again soon. Sincerely, Shariff Taylor 480 Alto Road San Diego, CA. 92179
