For the longest I have ALWAYS hated school and high school is THE WORST. I mean, why should I have to go to school when I can learn everything online?? My high school civics class with Mr. Bundy is usually THE WORST. Its usually so boring. But this one week we were talking about crime and punishment and I was thinking, this next test is going to be SO AWFUL but then Mr. Bundy assigned us pen pals. And OMG. It changed my life! My penpal was an inmate named Branden. At first he sounded a little scary. The stories I read said he would wear this creepy mask and do really bad things to people....stole from them...hurt them... I didn't even want to write him at first but Im so glad I did. He responded so quickly and he is so sweet. He told me that he wasn't responsible for the bad things they said he did and the more I researched him the more I realized that he was right! He had such a bad childhood and so many bad things happened to him that they didn't even care about when they were trying to lock him up. His trial was not fair and they made up a lot of the things they say he did. I've watched so many shows on Netflix that Im actually an expert on spotting this stuff. And it was so obvious that the police were totally out to get him and they set him up. The man I'm writing would never hurt anyone! He's innocent and its a shame that this country keeps locking up innocent black men. I wanted to let him know I was there for him, and that not everyone in this country is a jerk so even after the project ended, I kept writing him. I wrote him for almost a year and I didn't tell anyone, even my parents because they wouldn't understand. Sometimes I sent him pictures because he was so lonely in there I know he needed a friend. And he's such a good friend! We talk about our lives and our feelings and he's so understanding! He really gets me. So when I got his last letter I was sooooo happy! Because guess what? He's getting out of prison! I knew that there was something fishy with his case and this proves it! And you know what Branden said? He's going to come see me!!! OMG! My heart did a little flutter when I read that. I'm so happy! I can finally meet this guy who has become my really good friend and so much more to me! He told me to let him know when my parents aren't home (they're so judgmental and closeminded, its embarrassing) and tonight they are going to be out at a concert so he's coming over! I know the perfect welcome home present to get him!