"I'm going to be here"

I read the Modern Love column from the New York Times every week. It is usually beautiful. This week's was especially fitting for the end of one year and the beginning of another. Click here to read it. Here's a teaser:

““I used to be angry,” Mike told me. “I’d pick fights over nothing. I was mad to be in prison and I wanted everyone else to be mad, too. But then I realized: Man, this is my life. Do I want to be that guy? Always mad? I’m not going to get married or have a family. Not today. Maybe never. I’m going to be here. I’m a prisoner. There are some things I’m never going to do. And I can spend my life being mad about that, or I can try something else...I decided to be the best prisoner I could be.”