Category: Piece of the Week

-Karii, San Francisco I think something I had to learn the hard way is that actions have consequences. This is definitely not my first time here.  I wouldn’t say I am a frequent flyer, but I have been locked up a few times and unfortunately my circumstances led me to make decisions that got me here. I used to pity myself when I was younger and point fingers at everybody but myself.  Now that I am older, I look at things differently. Even though this system is messed up and being a city kid really does set you up for

-LD, Albuquerque “I truly believe that building bridges not building walls and not giving into fear will make our communities better.” Charles Barkley  I like this quote and agree with it because, from experience, having connections and building bridges gives you more opportunities. We need to help each other and not tear each other down. That helps our communities build bridges to be better.  We can all be so selfish and so segregated that we don’t build those bridges but build walls. Personally, I like to build bridges and have those connections, so I can be able to have those

-AP, San Diego I was about fifteen years old going into high school during COVID-19, so everything was basically online. My mom is a travelling nurse, so she was never in town. I had my friends over. They were all older than me.  So, one day a female brought her friend, and he asked me if I wanted to try cocaine. I told him no. He kept asking me and it was getting annoying, so I was just going to try it.  But, once I saw him jump off my second story balcony, that pushed me harder and made me

-JRS, Sonoma I belong with my family and friends.I belong with a wrench in my dirty, oil and grease-covered hands.I belong with my head under the hood of a car.I belong to a two-car garageWith the smells of fuel, oil, and burnt rubber.I am an automotive engineer, and I belong with you.I work hard for the satisfaction of my clients and myself.I do good work when I’m with good people.I don’t belong to any single person.I belong with the world.I don’t belong in these walls, in these cells.I belong to wide open roadsWith the wind through my hair and joy

-DB, Albuquerque This year has started off good, then changed very quickly. The person I came into the new year with me is no longer in my life. Sadly, life goes on. Maybe things just weren’t meant to be. I am walking to new beginnings though!  This boy that I am talking to now is very different. Everyone I have told about him has approved. That’s a big difference! We have been getting to know each other a lot! We talked on the phone, and we came to a lot of agreements to where we understand that if we don’t

-Marcus, Santa Cruz In the midst of writing his story, his pencil snapped. Growing in frustration, this particular storyteller, sharpened the halves and began to write again. However, this action of a breaking pencil redirected his train of thought. Here is the story he wrote (from the pencil’s view): I feel my wisdom may travel to a receptive writer, one who is in touch with the world. For I was once a majestic thing, towering above the other trees to become a splintered thing, fractured, yet my wisdom remains whole.  This lead — which has replaced my leaves — may

-JRS, Sonoma  Look, we all got bad habits. Whether it be drugs, alcohol, fighting, talking back, gang life shhh, the list goes on. My bad habit is being a chameleon, trying to fit in no matter what crowd.  But I’ve fit in more with people when I’m just being myself. I’m goofy, serious, nerdy, a little crazy, and got one hell of a mouth on me, but I got friends and family that love and cherish me for me. My friends and family are my support system, and I’ve been breaking my habit for three years now but still catch

-Julia, Marin  “Until the lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter.” Chinua Achebe  This quote to me seems to say that until both stories or sides are told, only the one told will be telling the events. One person will always prevail; they will tell it in the sense that all glory goes to them. To me, the hunter in other terms is the good person and the lion is the typical bad person. But that’s a black and white version. To me, looking deeper into the quote would be the gray portion. When we don’t

-Alejandra, San Mateo  Hey, today they want me to talk about my ideal partner. My ideal partner is my boyfriend. He is everything I look for in a guy. He’s smart, respectful, loving, good looking, and he spoils me always.  He’s nothing like the guys in our generation. He’s one of a kind. We’ve been through hell and back. No matter what, we’re always there for each other. He makes me feel happy, excited, and loved.  We’ve been together since I was thirteen and he was fourteen. I remember it like it was yesterday. He’s my twin, my other half.

-T, San Bernardino For basically the majority of my life my father wasn’t really present. He was always out in the streets doing things that would always take him back to the same place. He has been getting locked up ever since I was little enough to not understand.  I would say that a big role of why the way he lives his life is partly because of the drugs he does. The other reason is because of the adrenaline he gets from running away from the police.  He enjoys the way he lives, except for when reality hits him