This happened years ago—after watching a documentary on YouTube about life after incarceration, one person's story stood out to me. Driven purely by curiosity, I improperly searched for and found their social profiles in a lapse of judgment.

I intended to contact them, not out of a desire to help but to satisfy my curiosity about their post-prison experiences. However, I stopped myself upon realizing the inappropriateness and potential harm of my actions.

As someone who had just finished serving their sentence and was trying to rebuild their life, they deserved privacy without outside intrusion that could compromise their reintegration process.

At the time, I did not fully consider how important it was for them to leave their past behind and forge a new identity without unwarranted contact from strangers.

I'm sharing my experience as a cautionary tale and confession of sorts.