just reposting this cause it's true.
Best thing is to be yourself, I've found. Laugh when people clown on you an clown back. If you're a youg'n listen very closely to the OG's that you're bunking with. It's just the way the hierarchy works and you can't do nothing about it. Assuming that everyone on this site draws, tell hella people in your bunks that you draw. You'll make friends fast and it's a good way to speed up your time and you can get some soups out of it.
Read hella books. A lot of jails and prisons will only accepct books through mail from publishers and book stores. Get you're homies on the outside to find some connects through these venues. A lot of 'radical bookstores' (like, anarchist, leftist bookstores) will be more than glad to do this.
Take a shower everyday if you can.
Catch tags with tooth paste.