by Luis A decision that was incredibly challenging for me was one time in my life in the seventh grade. I had class with my friend and he was playing Clash of Clans during class and he was sagging his pants and had a knife on him. It was visible on his pocket and once my teacher caught him using his phone, she not just saw his phone, she also saw the knife and he immediately panicked and went to the school phone to call the principal. My friend told me to hold onto the knife, so he wouldn’t get
Continue ReadingAuthor: mpau@thebeatwithin.org
I Will Tell You What’s Hard
by Bryan Wu It’s hard to describe the who, what, and why’s of how we feel at times. Especially when we’ve become accustomed to living in such a dishonest way for so long. Even we start to believe our own lies. Our greatest emotional fears become realities and it seems the more we attempt to avoid these “things,” the more evident and realistic they become. Until we become aware, recognize, and nurture these feelings we have, we will be unable to release ourselves from the confining ropes of negativity, knotted within our minds. As I sat there pretending to watch
Continue ReadingSecond Chance
by Dago I was given a second chance and quickly messed it up. I didn’t learn from my mistake — the mistake of riding around with guns while risking my freedom, either for the protection of myself or my folks. The judge and the rest of the world think of us as bad people trying to hurt others, but that’s really not the case. We continue doing the same things any normal person would do, such as going out to eat with friends, or going out to places around town. But we always decide to put our second chances at risk by
Continue ReadingA Second Chance to Make A Difference
by Richard “Chooch” Angulo Sitting in prison for nine years has given me a lot of time to reflect on my life. I often find myself returning to the way things unfolded. Why this, why that…more times than not, I want to be given a second chance, a do-over. My story begins in Southern California, a small town forty miles East of Los Angeles. My parents, both Mexican-American, were blue-collar workers who worked hard to put a roof over our heads and put food on the table. The life my parents modeled for my brothers and I was reflective of the life they
Continue ReadingVolume 24.27/28
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Continue ReadingEd Note 24.27/28
Greetings friends! Welcome to double issue 24.27/28! This week we welcome to our editorial pages another stellar pairing of reflections by high school students, this time from San Francisco University High School. In her reflection, Rania offers honest insight into her own development of resiliency, and critiques the function of American prisons versus prisons abroad. Lukas thinks critically of his role as the “gatekeeper†of Beat Without writing, and asks a lot of great questions around artistic agency and editorial guidelines. We appreciate the hard work of both Rania and Lukas, and the brilliant reflections that they’ve had on our
Continue ReadingToday
by Osvaldo Vasquez After many years in prison and many self-help groups, I realized my thinking had degenerated drastically from what is acceptable in order for my life to get to the place where it was okay in my head to steal and kidnap somebody. Today, as a result of my personal self-analysis and use of the principles of the 12 Step Program (Humility, Honesty, Open-Mindedness, Responsibility, Willingness, Forgiveness, etc.) I realize, thanks to my sobriety (six years clean) and good judgement, that all these things were contributing and causative factors that led to my life-crime. My recovery and rehabilitation
Continue ReadingFreedom Isn’t Free
by Ryan All of us want freedom. We want to be able to go out and do whatever we used to do. But freedom isn’t free. I hear a lot of people blaming others for their incarceration, but the truth is, you did this to yourself. Your PO didn’t just pull up out of the blue and decide to arrest you. You decided to risk your freedom and now you’re paying the price. It’s no one’s fault but your own. A lot of people also don’t really think about the idea of freedom when they’re out just enjoying life. A
Continue ReadingH.O.P.E.
by Jose H.O.P.E. means Healing Of People’s Emptiness. In the Bible, it says to forgive yourself and Christ will forgive your sins. Hope means second chances that you collect and deserve. I’m filled with hope and second chances. This essay is for the people like the Declaration of Independence. It’s only different because those who feel lonely don’t feel free. Those feelings should change with the powerful meaning of hope and forgiveness. Hope will heal the person’s soul, body and mind. Forgiveness will clean out the sin of the blood, which will let you be cleansed out like the Holy Water.
Continue ReadingTime of Change
by Lisa Strawn Second chances should be a mandatory part of everyone’s lives. As a kid I loved to write and it was my favorite subject in school. Truly, now my writing has changed me into a truthful, grateful, person some fifty years later. In prison being transgendered, my writing has helped so many transgenders to see the beauty in their freedom. Being able to celebrate who you are everyday is something I embrace everyday. Life experiences that I have faced have given me a second chance to say it’s okay to be who you are, even in a men’s prison. I believe that we
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