Category: Piece of the Week

by NV, Sonoma I think maybe I need to be on ankle monitor just a little bit longerSo I can show you I’m stronger than they systemMakes me seem no matter how much you tryYou can’t keep silencing meYou can’t keep telling lies about my familyNobody knows how bad the system got for meNobody knows they had it out for meNobody knows the way that they treated meEnough about me, let’s talk about my momEveryday she gets into her broke down carTo go near and farShe gets her shhh together for meBut I again break the lawDon’t punish my mom

by B, Sacramento One of my favorite hobbies is music! I like to write, sing, rap. It’s therapy for me. Most people write poems, write in anger. Talk about their feelings. And nine times out of ten, people hear you, give you advice, and don’t care.  So I turned to my booklet, wrote my feelings down in rhymes, showed a homie, and he felt what I was speakin’ in my song. He liked it and that gave me confidence in my written music. Pretty soon the whole one tier pod was asking me to hear my “isms”, as I call

by AMJ, San Francisco  It was the happiest when I got to go out of state to go skate with my homie’s. It was about three months ago, when me and my homies/family we went to Oregon to skate all different skate parks. It was I can say, the happiest time of my life. We went all over Portland/Oregon. I mean it was the best adventure. We went camping for a few days, all different camping spots.  Then after that, we went to go meet my sponsor for the first time. She’s hella cool, I’m like a son to her

by Montana, San Francisco A funny moment for me would be coming to jail because no matter how much I try I always end up in jail. I know it’s a blessing in disguise to keep me alive and just be thankful to still be here and not be dead.  Even though I’m in jail right now, it could always be worse. So, you just have to be thankful for all the little things and never be ungrateful. Never be in denial to things that are keeping you safe and alive.  I don’t know how to be more aware of

by ISC, Santa Clara “Difficult” is the one word I would use to describe my childhood. Growing up was difficult. It honestly was difficult for anybody growing up in the system. It was bad all until I started looking at life a different way.  The system was a different type of bad. You can make being in the system not bad by making good memories. I’ve had some good times but honestly being here is mostly not good.  Growing up was hard, especially my childhood. Even though you try to make the best of it, the people and things around

by JV, Sacramento The man that inspires me the most, to be honest, is one that struggled, preserved, and overcame. This man was publicly shamed, shut down, and rejected by society. But this man never gave up. He went on to be remembered as one of the greatest composers in history, his name was Sergei Rachmaninoff.  Rachmaninoff was born into a family of musicians. It soon became clear that he was especially talented. At a very young age, he was sent to a prestigious Russian music school known as a conservatory. He was to be taught by the best pianists

by Lil Los, James Ranch, Santa Clara From the moment I Ianded on earth I can’t remember anything from before I was a four year old, but I can tell you everything after that age. I was in the mix of so much stuff. I feel like I was never able to be a child. As a young child, I was four, I seen my own mother physically attacked by my father. I was confused and scared. I didn’t know what to do or how to help.  At five years old the cops kicked in the door and took my

by LL, Sacramento  What “trust your power” means to me, is to trust the intelligence you have. When I hear “trust your power”, I think of it as words of wisdom. Many people in the world have different capabilities and don’t use them to their fullest. Trusting your power is like trusting yourself in some sort.  We get put in situations we don’t want to be in every day. We make changes by the mind. Everything we do is a power. Waking up, eating, walking, talking. It’s all a power. You just gotta trust it.  For example, let’s say you

 D’ercey, San Francisco  Before I came to jail, I was out doing bad. I was gon’ keep doing the same thing ‘till I came here. I learned my lesson I swear this time. I learned because life is short, I got a lot to lose. I swear I love my family and if something was to happen to them, I would be hurt, so that’s why I am changing my life. When I get out of here, I will change.  Everybody ain’t your friend. Somebody might want to be your friend but is really trying to use you. That’s why

by Gio, San Mateo  A sign I got in my life that was trying to prevent me from going the wrong way, was the day I came in. Man, let me tell you the whole day I was planning on just chilling at home. I really wasn’t feeling like going out that whole day, until someone I knew hit me up.  At first, he was like let’s kick it and smoke or something and I told him no, I am just chilling at home for the day. I’m not trying to kick it. Then, he told me he had something