It is up to me

What I am doing in my life.

Time fly's when you stay busy, so I am doing several things to stay occupied and productive.I love to produce and learn new things and grow as a person, often times in this environment of prison especially, but in life also people get complacent and therefore don't move forward. and we are constantly in motion so if your not moving forward then your moving backwards. I am challenging myself to be successful despite my life in prison sentence that I currently have I won't use that as a crutch to be complacent and let my life rot away. I have faith that my life has purpose and meaning as do each and every life. and I am determined to live up to that and be successful in fulfilling God's plan for me. 

This is what a typical day looks like for me, 

I wake up around 6:45 am and then get ready for the day and start out doing Spanish studies until breakfast. 

After breakfast I go to work and get done around lunchtime, after lunch I practice piano I have a keyboard in my cell and am learning music, it is very fascinating. when I learned to play guitar a little bit it wasn't formally by any means just how to play some chords and I just went from there learning timing and whatnot but on the keyboard I'm learning everything and there is definitely a lot to it. I am attending a music class which I attend once a week also. 

After that I draw I love to draw and paint I have a passion for creating something from nothing. I love art in all forms. it is such creative expression and a way to release your emotions in a healthy way and share yourself as a piece of me goes into every work of art in which I produce. 

Also, each day whenever my gym time is I go and lift weights I enjoy exercising, and also eating good. so whenever my gym is I squeeze that into my schedule. 

I also talk with my wife several times a day which is the highlight of my normal days. 

Dinner is between 5-530, after that have a couple more calls with wifey, then I go and do home work and study, 

Also, I am enrolled in college, and am working on a bachelor's degree in Theology and I enjoy more and more the study of God. 

On Monday evenings I go to the law library, and do research on my case working towards a relief from this erroneous conviction, and throughout the week I pull my legal work out and read and study. 

On Thursday new nights I assist in teaching a painting class it is satisfying to be able to share my knowledge with the next person so they may share my passion for arts and enjoy the struggle and process of learning.

I don't watch much TV, I watch a few shows here an there. I have been watching tyrant recently, although I am getting somewhat bored with it. I watch some of the political soap opera and see how it unfolds with each new piece of dirt that comes out on both candidates that are running for president it is unreal that these are the people that we put up to be president. 

Anyways this is an overview of what my days look like, thought I would share with you.

Valentines

This weekend I was able to spend the whole weekend for 4 days with the love of my life :).
Today is our third day and it is the most special day since is Sunday 14 of February 2016, Valentines.

This valentines is the greatest valentines I have ever had. Spending it with such an amazing woman.
The things that we share together reach far beyond these walls. It is as if nothing else is around us. Our time is magical. And we are able to really communicate an a level that I have never experienced before. Looking into her eyes and holding her hand. Hearing her sweet voice. It let me know that our future, wherever it takes us is going to be a bright one.

I know in my heart our lives came together not by coincidence rather by fate, should you believe in destiny. I happen to believe, the evidence is irrefutable to me, that is what has led me to several changes that have transformed me, accepting that everything happens for a reason and when the moment comes is your choice of what to do with every chance,  I saw the "light" so to speak, to guide me on my way.

Everybody should get a second chance, I'm not saying that it should just given to me or to anyone else. It is about earn it and work for it. Anyways I hope that everybody had a happy valentines day.

Tom Taylor

Guest: Derrick Steilmann

The judge once told me that I could never be rehabilitated. Then he proceed to sentence me to 110 years WITHOUT parole for a crime I committed when I was 17 years old.

Well that old judge was wrong!

I am not the same drug-crazed child that I was at the time of my conviction. I am haunted by the things that I have done, and I am deeply ashamed. Today I am a Christian and a non-violent person. I have been inside now for nearly two decades, and I have only one violent infraction -- and that was 15 years ago in 2000. No fights. Nothing. I have been (am currently) involved in many positive programs, such as Self-repair, beautification projects, anti-violence organizations. I currently facilitate a painting course for other inmates, and I have facilitated Release Readiness, Cognitive Change, Getting it Right, and several other self-repair programs. I advocate self-awareness, Christian morals and non-violence.

Men CAN be rehabilitated in the "correctional" environment. But they have to want it, and they have to work very hard for it. Rehabilitation doesn't happen overnight, but over the course of many years in the crucible of hardship.

I am 37 years no and I hear that big changes are coming down the pipe regarding juvenile lifers. My hope is thus renewed and my fight has begun again. I pray each night for a legal advocate willing to help me get back into court. I make plans for my future in the free world, even though it is yet uncertain. I wan to help others, so if I am to be freed someday, I will revisit prisons and speak to inmates. I want to share with them the message of hope and perseverance in the face of impossible odds.

To anyone who may reading this, I implore you: NEVER GIVE UP YOURSELVES AND NEVER GIVE UP ON THOSE WHO NEVER GIVE UP. There is a spark of change in some men, and that spark should always be fanned into a bright flame.

Recently I have written a book entitled BANISHING THE DARKNESS. It is a collection of all my writings and achievements over many years in prison. It is a story of rehabilitation, faith and growth toward maturity despite all odds. IT IS PROOF THAT THE OLD JUDGE WAS WRONG! For a free copy of my book, contact me at:

Derrick Steilman 782010
CBCC GB20
1830 Eagle Crest Way
Clallam Bay, WA 98326

Light upon darkness

I would like to take this opportunity to connect with you, share my thoughts and  reflections as well as create an opportunity for some of my pairs to share a bit of there story,

A lot of people have a certain set of views towards people in prison "criminals" so to speak, as consequence, we the "criminals" end up falling into a hard category to overcome, of course, there are always plenty of examples of those who continue down the same path elevating there criminal acts as they progress. Those examples are everyday available at the media (called Television, Radio and Internet) , to which the media, government and DOC exploit to push their propaganda. They say: "We need more money, more cops, more security, let's lock em up and throw away the key. take away their privileges and programs, lock em in the cell". Sadly, this only multiplies the problem in a continuous cycle of negative behavior.

What the people don't necessary hear about  is all the positive things that are happening in this dark cold world of chaos and criminals.  There are plenty of men who have made changes, grown up and  have improved their behavior and  arranged their priorities in life. Many men I know personally entered the system at a young age convicted of serious crimes that generated life sentences or an outrageous number of years that constitutes defect life, myself included, but I have changed,  after an in depth look into my personal situation: what I have done and what I want to do now based on my experience through being locked up, what I mean is that rehabilitation is possible and not all of us are the same person that entered the prison 5, 10, 15 , 20 or so years ago.

My intention through this platform is share a message, and that message is that there are many of us who through this struggle through these horrible choices made,  there is light at the end of the tunnel. And just because there is darkness about darkness cannot cast shadow upon all the light, and we can speak out to be heard. There are people who can make a difference. It is people like myself and others who are on the same path or similar with me, who can possibly reach the youth of america, or the next generation of criminals , to tell them that there is hope, and there is a good life for all who are willing to work for it.

So thank you for listening and we plan on providing much more content as we are able to, hoping that there is an audience who is willing to listen. Please check out http://www.tomtaylorsfineartplace.com/ to see what I do with some of my time. Until next time take care

Tom Taylor

Poem - Life

Hello, today I share this with you, a short poem that tries to express how i feel a lot of times, in the end I always find a drive to continue. to be better.

Life

From the blacktop of the streets, under the stars

To the confines of concrete, behind the bars

They locked me up, threw away the key

Because I refused to take their erroneous plea

The undying will of one man’s heart to persevere

Keeps the blood from running cold and living in fear

Finding new beginnings, when life has been led astray

Hope remains, to carry on through each passing day

The second hand on the clock ticks, not ever standing still

Feeling like I’m a hamster on a wheel

Trying to get to the top of a never ending hill

Time travels on faster, sometimes slower

Navigating the way, I am my boat’s own rower

To trip and fall back down, the reoccurring story

On a quest to attest this life, reaching fame and glory

Blood starts pumping through my veins, as I again feel alive

Recovering from this fall, that almost fatal dive

Finding drive to continue, strive on through the strife

Where I’m at is just a change of venue

As long as I’ve got breath, I’ve still got life

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