A Birthday to Remember: Thank You (Part 1)

For years while on house arrest, I imagined what holidays and birthdays in prison would be like. In every version I dreamed up, I never came close to predicting the reality. This birthday turned out to be one of the best of my life, all because of the incredible outpouring of love I received from friends—both old and new.

When I was first arrested, I lost a lot of people I thought were friends. Some were no surprise, but others completely blindsided me. As the years dragged on, waiting for my trial and sentencing, more people I trusted disappeared or betrayed me. But this week, around my birthday, I finally got to see clearly who my real friends truly are.

I want to use this first part of my birthday post to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who made my birthday special.
Some of you sent good wishes on social media (my mom told me about them, although I don’t know all the details yet).
Some of you generously sent money for my commissary—I’m deeply grateful for that.
Some of you sent gifts anonymously through the system, and even though I don’t always know exactly who to thank, please know this: I appreciate you all.

Many of you—some long-time friends and some just readers of my blog—sent me books. You have no idea how much joy that has brought me.
Books have become one of my greatest sources of comfort and knowledge here.
The only “problem” is that I’m running out of space to keep them all around my bunk—a pretty great problem to have.

For everyone who sent books, I want you to know:

• I plan to read every single one of them cover to cover.
  
• I’m moving all the gift books to the top of my reading list.
  
• I’ll be writing book reports on each one and will do my best to tag and thank the sender when I post them (forgive me if I make any mistakes—there’s a lot to keep track of!).
  

Also, your generosity will reach far beyond me.
Since we’re only allowed to possess five books at a time, after I finish a book, I donate it to the prison library.
I could try to keep them all and one day create a fancy bookshelf at home—but honestly, why? I’d rather let your gifts continue to spread knowledge, comfort, and entertainment to others who need it just as much as I do.

So thank you—not just from me, but from the many others who will benefit from your kindness for years to come.

Stay tuned for Part 2—I’ll share what it was like actually celebrating a birthday inside a prison camp.
But for now, know this:
This birthday renewed my hope in humanity. It reminded me that real friendship and decency still exist—and that sometimes, even from behind walls and fences, you can feel more loved than you ever thought possible.