LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS; a sentiment expressed by Huynh, Tam. There is no way to know the exact second your life changed forever. You can only begin to know that moment by looking in the rear view mirror. And trust me when I tell you that you never, ever see it coming. Did my life change forever the day I got arrested, or did my life changing moment happen even earlier? Was that day just the culmination of a whole series of fateful moments of poor choices and bad luck? It’s hard to say when you are forced to live out your life in a room the size of a bathroom; a room that’s 6.5 feet wide by 11.5 feet long. 
Prison is undoubtedly a terrible place to be under any circumstance, but even so, I used it to my advantage by deconstructing all of my old habits. I have truly learned to appreciate some of life’s simplest gifts. GOD. Over the last three decades I have learned so much through this experience and developed a mindset of progressive and positive thought construction. All of the programs provided to me have allowed me to become an educated man with a humble purpose of giving, caring, and providing assistance to those struggling with mental health, while teaching them appropriate and healthy coping skills. My family would really hope that society will give this 59 year old man a chance to get out, to showcase these healthy skills. 
It used to be that a review was conducted after 7 years for a person sentenced to life imprisonment. Laws changed, and this review was increased to 15 years, then 20, then 40 years, and now…no period of review is conducted for a person serving life without parole in the state of Colorado. 
Have we lost our humanity? Have the people of Colorado become so intimidated, distraught, and insensitive at the thought of rehabilitation for crimes of a more severe nature, that we deny Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness? Do we instead force a person to remain in bondage, paying a debt to society that is deemed unpayable? If we have chosen to take steps backward and reach the conclusion that a person isn’t worthy of certain natural and unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, then we are choosing to become the oppressors. 
 Please give me the opportunity to be free; to reunite with my family, and be a part of society that empowers these guiding principles of freedom. Society’s cultural view toward inmates has now shifted to being more inclusive toward our long term inmates, providing us with an opportunity to reform and correct the self defeating behaviors that landed us in this situation to begin with. 
Since this shift I have completed and acquired 21 certifications, which notably I am proud of. These certifications include, but not limited to, being a Peer Specialist; Mental Health First Aid Training; showing great work ethic through MRW; Work Ethic Program through Wichita State University; Reentry Planning section of the Breakthrough Program of the challenge; completion of the Soft Skills section of the Breakthrough Program, and a certificate of Entrepreneurial Achievement. 
Before I go, I want to say that we all have our encounters with life’s disappointments, some worse than others. Perhaps those scars are so deeply embedded that not even time will heal them; yet we cannot exist without Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. 
Yours sincerely, Huynh, Tam