The Real You I really feel strongly that no one knows, or sees, the real me. The question is “do you think people see you differently to how you are?” and I can definitely admit that no one knows the real Jemma. Only maybe one true friend, who is more like a sister to me, and who I live with and spend a lot of my time with; who helps me and cares for me, and deep down knows the real Jemma. I believe that in HMP (aka -prison) you often have to show the strong side, or show off to try and act like a hard girl. Different groups of girls act different so you change daily, or even hourly. Also with staff that like or hate you, you put a barrier up to, again, show the strong you. I really do believe that in prison, you never really have a handful of real friends. Hourly, you change the real you to show them that you could be just like them to gain a place in ‘the cool girls gang’ so deep down you truly are the only person who knows the real you. Like I wrote earlier, in this place that I’ve called home for the last 8 months, there has been a lot of girls who have been in and out, and have noticed the change in me. They say, “Jem, you are so different” so then I know they never knew the real woman I was. I have finally, after all this time, met a beautiful and wonderful girl who I class as a best, true friend and I know she knows the real and true Jemma. She’s never treated me differently. We now live together and I can tell her anything, show her anything, and be the real Jemma without the worry of her or anyone, treating me different. Most people here don’t, or have never known the real me, and wouldn’t even know the real way I spell my name and I have spent 8 months with them. I now can honestly say that I believe people see me differently to how I am really as a person. ##poetsin