We asked our prison writers to take part in a reflective exercise. We encouraged them to look into the mirrors in their cells, visualize their reflections as their ten-year-old selves, and give advice and guidance to those younger versions of themselves. These submissions, collected under Confessions of A Criminal: My Advice to A Younger Me, are the results of their profound and personal journeys into the past.

Today, they offer the wisdom that comes from experience, the lessons learned from mistakes, and the hope that their words might steer a troubled kid away from the paths they once walked.