It was an aggravated day. It started off OK, as usual, but that’s how every day in solitary confinement begins. The sun shines through your cell window, people are laughing, shooting the breeze, and I’m working out—the usual routine. But it’s still early, and the day hasn’t even reached noon. As the day progresses, it becomes evident that the security is nowhere to be seen. They are so understaffed that counts or security checks are virtually non-existent.

It’s quiet until suddenly, someone yells for a channel check, and a guy from another section starts berating a guy from my section, which irritates him to the point where he retorts, “If you’ve got something to say, say it directly and stop hiding behind slurs.” The exchange of disrespectful slurs continues from a distance until the man from my section finally snaps.

Things escalate when he kicks his food slot open, and security descends upon the pod to exercise the use of force. I witness the confrontation—the guards wrestle him down, restrain him, and escort him to F-pod, a disciplinary pod for level 3 offenses. All the while, he’s limping.

Meanwhile, others in my section incessantly demand a channel check, wanting to change the TV channel. One individual, in a fit of frustration, kicks his slot open and thrusts his arm out, signaling desperately for the security officers’ attention at the control center, but to no avail. This only serves to infuriate everyone further.

A sergeant eventually arrives on the pod. He speaks to one of the inmates, but his lack of assistance only fuels the anger. The man who had been yelling about the Offender ProtectionInvestigation (O.P.I) tells the sergeant at lunch that he’s going to tamper with the slot, but beforehe can do so, he starts a fire outside his cell. The smoke fills the area, blackening the ceiling andreducing visibility. I block my whole door off to avoid the smoke, but the chaos persists until an officer finally arrives to change the channel—all this commotion over a basketball game.

But such is the nature of solitary confinement, where tensions run high and incidents like these occur daily. People are pushed to the brink, acting out or losing their sanity. This is my life and my routine in solitary confinement…