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At just 19, poet and multidisciplinary artist ArunDitha found herself in what was then Changi Women\u2019s Prison<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>for drug use.<\/span><\/p>\n The prison, now known as Institution A4, often houses young inmates under 21 together. But there were no new female inmates in her age group during her initial holding period, she recalled, so she was held alone for several days.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey opened the door to the cell and it was empty. I just sat there and cried because I was so afraid,\u201d she told CNA Women.<\/span><\/p>\n Her only companion: A large grasshopper that blew in from the window. ArunDitha spoke to it and felt comforted.<\/span><\/p>\n When I asked the 37-year-old Singaporean, whose real name is Deborah Arunditha Emmanuel, about a resonant memory from her incarceration, that was the first one that came to mind.<\/span><\/p>\n It may seem odd that she would recall an insect after almost two decades. But that was how alone she felt.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen the grasshopper blew in, I just felt that I was not alone. And that (the loneliness) was the hardest thing,<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>she said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI realised that so much of my behaviour up to that point, all of the seeking and partying, had been a way for me to not confront the deep loneliness that I have experienced my whole life,\u201d she reflected.<\/span><\/p>\n Writing became a means for her to find that elusive connection \u2013 with others, but most of all, herself. Over the years, she has published four books, won poetry slams (competitions where poets perform original poems on stage), and performed as a poet and singer internationally.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n