Rewriting My Sentence

[rewritingmysentence]

March 13, 2026

Today's workout: Flash Workout

40 Running High Knees

20 Squats

20 Mountain Climbers

40 Running High Knees

20 Pushups

20 Plank w/ Alt Let Lifts

40 Running High Knees

20 Flutter Kicks

20 Leg Scissors

5 Rounds, 30 second rest in between rounds

(I'm not supposed to rest in between exercises, but I did for about 5 or 10 seconds. Those high knees were killing me.)

#prison #floridadepartmentofcorrections #getbetterordietrying #fitness #neilarey #darebee #flash

[rewritingmysentence]

I give thanks and praise to Allah for providing me with an Islamic mentor who reminds me that if Allah is willing to forgive me of my past, who am I not to forgive myself?

#prison #floridadepartmentofcorrections #islam #muslim #getbetterordietrying #forgiveness

[rewritingmysentence]

March 13, 2026

When factoring trinomials I think it is definitely easier to use the AC method when a equals 1, and the grouping method when a does not equal 1.

And now we continue to factoring special products.

#prison #floridadepartmentofcorrections #school #algebra #study #CLEP #getbetterordietrying

[rewritingmysentence]

Just a little word play I cooked up one day.

In The Law Library:

I'm reading sentences about sentences

I'm sharing quarters with the menaces

I'm sharing a quarter with destroyers

That are trying to fix and sway their sentences

[rewritingmysentence]

Today's algebra. Factoring trinomials when a=1. Now I'm not saying that this is pointless in the real world. I will just say that the within the scope of my knowledge I cannot find any reasonable real world application. But it will get done. Gotta get prepared for these future CLEP tests Insha-Allah. Shout out to all the high schoolers making this look easy.

#prison #floridadepartmentofcorrections #getbetterordietrying #education #algebra #school #edovo #nevertoolate

[rewritingmysentence]

"What was it Spook said?" Sazed thought, sitting in the shadowy kandra cavern. "That faith is about trust. Trusting that somebody was watching. That somebody would make it all right in the end, even though things looked terrible at the moment.

(The Hero Of Ages by Brandon Sanderson)

#prison #floridadepartmentofcorrections #getbetterordietrying #faith #books #brandonsanderson #quotes

[rewritingmysentence]

A huge problem with today is drill rap. Many people will say that it is just music. But humans have an undeniable tendency to become what they think about the most. The younger generations are becoming increasingly violent with no thoughts as to the consequences of their actions. I used to love drill rap. But I realize that it poisoned my mentality. Does that testify to the weakness of my mind at the time? Absolutely. I was on drugs and focused on all of the wrong things. There are plenty of people out there who can listen to this music and not be influenced to shoot at the next person that disrespects them. But there are also plenty of people out there who will be influenced in that way. People who are on drugs, whose inhibitions are lowered (as was my case.) Or those who are already considered "impressionable". I understand that the artist are talking about the lives that they feel they have been forced to live due to the circumstances of their lives and upbringing, and that their music allows them an opportunity to get out of their circumstances. But when the violence is glorified, with plenty of youth who wanna be just like the artist they idolize, it leads to a generation who are being molded into fodder for the prison system and the graveyard. All the songs talk about shooting the opps in the face when they disrespect you, but very few of them talk about the 10 years, 20 years, or lifetime that they will face afterwards. When they speak about somebody in prison, it is barely glanced over. And this also links to the topic of "helping the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" creating the divide that is doing away with the middle class. We have a generation of youth, from the lower, and now it is bleeding into the middle class as well, where many of the males are going to be in prison for a lengthy amount of time due to violent crimes. That is incomes taken away from households and an added financially burden on those families who wish to take care of their family and loved ones that are locked up. Take away those incomes and your taking away from resources that allow and help people to save and build their lives. Keeping them where they are financially. Or think of a lower middle class or a lower class family made up of 2 young adults and a baby. The man goes to prison for a violent crime and now the mother has to find a way to work while taking care of the baby. That is just one more family that are going to slide down the income level into lower class. Now this is just my opinion. Maybe I'm connecting dots that shouldn't be connected. Maybe this time in prison has burnt me out and made me paranoid about the "powers that be" and what kind of conspiracies that they might have in place. But I don't think so.

#prison #floridadepartmentofcorrections #thoughts #nevertoolate #getbetterordietrying #conspiracy

[rewritingmysentence]

Workout Log

(Keep as-is, just clean spacing)

Post 7: Thoughts on Drill Music

(Keep as-is — it’s strong)

Post 8: Quote / Reflection

Post 9: Poetry

Post 10–48: Daily Logs

Workouts

School progress

Reflections

Faith posts

[rewritingmysentence]

Education Plan

March 10, 2026

If I want a college degree, I’ve got to take a different route.

I’m starting with CLEP tests to earn credits without paying for full courses.

Right now I’m relearning algebra… after 15 years.

It’s frustrating — but necessary.

I’m also taking:

Algebra (digital course)

Islamic Jurisprudence (fiqh)

Life Management

Tayba Foundation course

Goal:

Eventually apply for a Pell Grant.

Fun Fact:

The “Father of Algebra” was a Muslim mathematician: Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi.

#education #clep #prisoncollege #getbetterordietrying

[luulapants]

Do prisoners actually want/enjoy those penpal programs? Because it seems like such an easy thing to do if it helps them but like with all things prison system related or possibly white savior esq feels I wonder if there's a catch

Ask me about incarceration!

YES.

Oh my god, yes, people are DESPERATE for penpals. Prisoners apply to join those programs and most have years-long waiting lists before they can get matched. These are people who are socially deprived and often feel like no one on the outside even knows they're alive. They need to talk to someone in the "real world" outside of prison.

The big catch is that it's a HUGE commitment - not easy at all. If you become a penpal, you are most likely going to become that person's primary emotional support. If they've got 7 years, you better be ready to do 7 years, keep up with it, and set boundaries for frequency. The absolute worst thing you can do is over-commit, burn yourself out, panic, and ghost them. That happens, and it's devastating.

That said, if you're willing to take that on, you could change or even save someone's life. I'll put more guidance on things to consider if you become a penpal below the cut.

One alternative that's come up in my community, which seems like it was a really low barrier to get started, are card writing events. Before holidays (even things like St. Patrick's day and 4th of July - anything Hallmark has a card for), the group will do a pop-up at a local church. They provide names of incarcerated people who have requested holiday cards, as well as donated greeting cards. They recommend that you write as much as you can - about anything. I once described the scenery on the drive I'd be taking to get home for the holidays, and I bet you anything the recipient read it ten times, because that's how much they crave contact. The nice thing about a program like this is it avoids that long-term commitment. I would love to see more of those crop up around the country.

A prison penpal will most likely, at some point, ask you for money. Financially supporting someone in prison is a lot - incarceration is disgustingly expensive - and you will have some complicated emotions about your level of comfort on the outside compared to theirs, what you're able to give, what you want to give, if you're being taken advantage of, etc. You have to set boundaries with them and yourself before you begin - decide on a number that you're willing to give, and stick to it.

You also have to set relationship boundaries, especially if you're a woman writing to a straight man. Again, these are socially deprived people. Not being allowed to interact with any women for years at a time does not cultivate appropriate behavior. They're lonely, and you will seem like the Only Woman In The World, and that tends to lead to some feelings that can be uncomfortable for the penpal.

You also have to think about your return address in terms of boundaries. Most people in prison will get out someday, and they will likely have very few connections or resources on the outside. Unless you're willing to have this person show up at your house asking for somewhere to live, you might need to go through a program that lets you use its address or get a PO box. You'll probably feel conflicted and gross about that, too, but again, supporting a whole grown person is probably more than you're looking to sign up for when you become a penpal.

[rewritingmysentence]

When family ties are strained or absent, a penpal becomes a lifeline for mental health. Having that outlet provides a crucial connection to the outside world, fueling the desire to improve oneself and keeping the hope of returning to civilian life alive

[rewritingmysentence]

Fitness Journey Begins

I’ve started new workout routines using Darebee.

Instead of just doing random pushups and squats, I’m following structured programs.

Right now I’m doing 5 rounds per workout (because of Ramadan), but I plan to increase that soon.

Yesterday:

Pushups, punches, kicks, core work

Today:

Squats, planks, leg lifts, etc.

No rest between exercises. 30–45 sec between rounds.

Let’s see where this takes me.

#fitness #prisonworkout #darebee

[rewritingmysentence]

 My Goals

I recently took a course by Michael Santos someone who served 25 years and came out successful.

He talks about something called the Straight-A Guide, and I’ve adopted his mindset.

Over the next 10 years, Insha’Allah, I will:

Earn a university degree

Write a book

Build a support network of at least 10 influential people

#goals #prison #selfimprovement #getbetterordietrying

[rewritingmysentence]

My name is Dalton. I was born and raised in Central Florida. I come from a good home both parents, two younger brothers.

Shortly after graduating high school, I got heavy into meth and K2. I was even part of the tweaker community on Tumblr. Unfortunately these things were introduced to me by an older crowd of teens who I looked up to at the time, and that was were my down falls all started.

My addiction led me in and out of county jail for years mostly petty drug charges.

About a decade into my addiction, I started playing with guns.

And meth + firearms only leads one place.

One night, I made a stupid decision. I shot into a house and hit an innocent person. I was charged with Attempted Murder.

After 2 years in county jail, I signed a plea for 25 years mandatory. They wanted to give me life so Alhamdulillah, I was spared.

When I got to prison, I went right back to drugs. For the first 8 months, I was just as lost as I was on the streets.

Then I had a visit with my family.

Seeing the disappointment in their eyes and the look on the mother of my child’s face changed something in me.

On January 4th, 2024, I got clean.

It hasn’t been easy. Life actually got worse shortly after I quit.

But I made a decision: I will face whatever comes sober.

Even if everything falls apart… my life won’t end with me being a junkie.

At my funeral, someone will be able to say: “He overcame himself.”

But now I want more than that.

I want to leave prison and be successful. I refuse to become a statistic.

#recovery #prison #getbetterordietrying #overcome

[rewritingmysentence]

Post 1: Introduction

So this is gonna be a blog about a guy that guy is me doing time in the Florida Department of Corrections.

I’m 33 years old and currently 5 years into a 25-year sentence for Attempted Murder with a firearm. According to my release date (March 12th, 2046), I’ll be 53 when I come home.

Over these first 5 years, I’ve experienced my fair share both fair and unfair of adversity. I’m currently on a CM bid, and during this time of isolation, I came to a realization:

I’ve been doing my time wrong.

I’ve been focused on the wrong things. I kept telling myself I needed to get through my struggles first… and then I would work on becoming better.

But now I understand I need to better myself while going through the struggle.

So this blog is going to document that process.

My goals. My progress. My failures. My thoughts. My workouts. The books I read. What I’m learning.

You’ll see my steps forward and my setbacks.

This is my life.

I’ll try not to be boring. If you have questions or comments, feel free to post them. If you’re a hater I won’t respond.

And I want to give a huge shoutout to my sister-in-law for managing this blog for me.

#prison #25years #departmentofcorrections #nevertoolate #getbetterordietrying