Hello,

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My name is Vishal, I did my first custodial sentence at the age of 16 and have found myself constantly in court ever since (I am now 31 years old).

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I enjoy reading the publications in your paper, it is a great idea and a lot of the stories are extremely relatable and remind me that I am not alone.

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It is helpful to hear a lot of people across the nation are facing similar battles, including the revolving door with incarceration. I have made determined efforts to change my life since being released from juvenile detention in 2011, but sadly I have returned to custody three times since. I am currently incarcerated in the Alexander Maconochie Centre in the A.C.T (Canberra).

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It gets disheartening but I am determined to break free of this system.

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It has taken years of counselling and working on myself to realise a lot of my youth offending stemmed from low self-worth and seeking approval from the wrong people, largely due to my upbringing which was a violent household and a massive clash of cultures. Me being the first in my family to be born and raised in Australia.

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I like to spend my jail as positively as I can, exercising, drawing, writing, reading and playing ping pong.

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I specialise in portraits and sketch portraits for the boys of their kids and loved ones. I also enjoy graffiti art and sketching cars. I would love to share two sketches I have done during my time on remand this time in, hopefully it can inspire and motivate fellow prisoners across the nation.

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The first one is of a rider on a GSX Suzuki, and the second is of one of my greatest idols, Muhammad Ali. They are just photocopies as I have kept the originals, so they have not captured all of the detail but still two of my best drawings this time round.

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Lastly I wish to share a poem that I wrote in 2017, my first custodial sentence as an adult.

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People that you’ve let down, the true ones forgive you,

You’ve just gotta bounce back, dig deep within you,

You’re just gotta hold on, don’t let them break you,

Cas if you chose to let go, it’s one big mistake to,

I’ve been through some hard times, nearly on the brink of it

and trust me these hard times, they’re just gonna keep coming,

The way of the warrior, never show no weakness,

Even though inside you may be feeling defeated,

You just gotta know that you ain’t all alone,

In your quiet cell or the busy sheets you roam,

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Thank you for reading, looking forward to your next issue, hopefully some of my work makes the cut!

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Kind Regards,

Vishal