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RICHARD R.

When I was in adult jail at the age of 16 I felt like I was lost in a world that I wasn’t supposed to be in. My mind and body felt like I was in hell - a horrible pit. That’s why I choose to make the left side of my mask black with flames. I was surrounded by fights and stabbings. I had to learn how to adapt, survive and protect myself among adult criminals. My cellmate was almost 3 times my age. When I got out people saw me as a menace to society. I felt like I didn’t belong in their world either. It had a lasting impact on me… I have physical and emotional scars from all of the terrible stuff I experienced in jail that will last my entire life. That’s why I choose to put wings and scars on the right side of my mask. The wings stand for how I’ve found peace in my life now. My scars motivate me to not to go back to jail and not to have any youth go through the same thing that I went through.