Behind the Number

Writing from inside — daily life, family, food, mental health, and everything in between. Unfiltered, by other humans.

Behind every inmate number, there is a person.

That’s the starting point for a new blog TJ is writing from inside — first-person accounts of what daily life behind the wall actually looks like. Not a debate about whether prisons should exist. Not a complaint. Just an honest window into the day-to-day: the people who probably shouldn’t be there, the people who probably shouldn’t be released, and everything in between.

TJ’s goal is simple — bridge the gap between behind the wall and the free world, one honest post at a time.

  • The Hardship

    ↳

    Today is Thursday, October 8th, 2026. Breakfast was blueberry muffin, biscuit, bran flakes, and milk. The suffering you choose builds you. The suffering you avoid…

    ≻: The Hardship
  • Today is Wednesday, October 7th, 2026. Lunch was beans and rice, wraps, lettuces, and cake. Let me tell you some real s**t: “Never embrace the…

    ≻: Get the fuck up!
  • Argue with who?

    ↳

    Today is Tuesday, October 6th, 2026. Lunch was ground beef with taco seasoning, rice, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, soft wraps, and cake. I hate arguing!!! Even…

    ≻: Argue with who?
Person writing in a lined journal using a blue fountain pen at a wooden desk with a cup of tea and a small potted succulent plant