by MR, Sacramento A time I put in hard work was a couple months ago. I was locked up and they told me I wasn’t goin’ to graduate on time. They said maybe next year if I put in effort. Mind you I was already in my fourth year and I didn’t have no credits. Damn near felt like dropping out, but being locked up was my advantage ‘cause all I had was time to focus on my credit recovery. I really thought it was impossible. I had six credits as a senior, so I asked the teacher in the
Continue ReadingYear: 2021
Leaving California
by Faith, San Mateo About a month and a half ago I got a call from my social worker. She was trying to sound all nice and was like, “You’re not going to like the news I am about to give you, but I have no choice, we are taking you out of your father’s care.” I remember sitting all quiet because I had no words. She asked me if I was okay, all I said was, “I don’t want to talk.” I hung up automatically and broke down. I couldn’t even talk; I was crying so much I couldn’t
Continue ReadingNightmare After Surgery, Part One
by Charles Reece, San Quentin State Prison, CA April 21st, 2020 at 9am I was transported to Marin General Hospital for my long overdue prostate surgery that I had been waiting on for twenty-two months. I should have been given the surgery no later than one month after discovery of the prostate cancer in June of 2018. A prisoner is never transported to outside medical facilities more than thirty minutes before their appointment for security reasons, therefore my surgery should have taken place no later than 10am but didn’t. The two guards and I arrived at the hospital five minutes
Continue ReadingFreedom
by Floyd D. Collins, San Quentin State Prison, CA So what exactly is freedom? Being a lifer with a possibility of parole you would think I would say freedom is outside these walls, on the other side of this gate. Well, I do feel this is only a part of freedom. For me freedom is being my authentic self. What this means is being the person God created me to be. Having a strong and clear peace of mind is freedom. Now I know how to have a good day, even when everything and everyone may feel it’s bad. I
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Volume 26.17/18
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingEd Note 26.17/18
Another week, another Beat! We would like to welcome you wonderful readers back to another fabulous edition of the one and only The Beat Within, double issue 26.17/18. We would like to extend a warm embrace to every single one of you readers and hope that when you read this you and your loved ones are in best of health spiritually, physically and mentally. Our dear friend OT is back with his insights for all our friends to read straight from the very hot climate of Managua, Nicaragua. Let’s pass the keyboard to our dear friend and colleague, OT! Boy
Continue ReadingHas Made Me Powerful
by L, Santa Clara Through those trials and tribulations, I’ve become a threat to society. See I’m not talking about being a strong heartless malicious gangster either. I’m armed not with a gun, I’m armed with knowledge and the thought to learn more. They continue to throw big numbers at me to scare me but I’m different from my peers, a life sentence, couldn’t change the man in me! Regardless of what happens, I will continue to grow and become a role model for my young ones and continue to make my predecessors proud. They’ve paved the way for success
Continue ReadingSeeing The Lights
by W, Sacramento My favorite view is LA because it’s my home and everything about it is amazing. I haven’t been to LA in a minute, but everyone loves to go there. I would say it’s very well known. My parents moved to LA and that’s how I discovered this amazing city. I love going to Hollywood. The view is just not like others. You can go to the top of the hill and you will see all the city lights. You will see all the traffic lights and all the building lights. To get there, you have to drive
Continue ReadingFamily
by AC, San Mateo My relationship with my parents is really good and strong. We’re always just talking, cleaning and chilling together either with music or with the TV show on. I know mostly everything I wondered about my parents because I asked them and then we go on talking for hours while they cook or just sit on the couch. I love how our relationship is strong because we really don’t know how much we’ve always struggled, but we managed to get through it as a family. So, I’m thankful for that. Our bond has always been good. We
Continue ReadingFake’s The New Real
by Georgie, San Mateo October 31, 2020, 8:20PM. I’m chillin’ in my girl’s room watching her put on her makeup, not just no regular makeup, the type they use for movies to make cuts and scratches look hella real. We got invited to this Halloween party, so we were going to go see what it was all about. My girl’s friend was the one who was throwing the party. She told us she rented out an Airbnb, got hella food, and decorated it. My girl takes hella long to get ready, so we were barely on our way like around
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