Category: Piece of the Week

by Bradley, Sonoma I was sentenced to placement, but though if I just did my absolute best through the program and not allow my anger to come out, I could just be the same person when I got out.  I would describe that mindset that I was in as the “fake it ‘till you make it” attitude. I didn’t truly want change for myself, but after a few months of doing good, and “faking it,” without working on myself, I snapped.  I was just putting the anger, the regret, and the sadness that I was building up further and further

by E, Sacramento I’m my own worst enemy, simply because I feel like I give up on myself a lot. Like sometimes, I will start to do something and then halfway through it, I’ll just give up on myself and get lazy and lose all my confidence.  Even not just doing things, but even when I’m in here. I struggle with myself in my own mind and start to think about all the things I’ve done and beat up on myself. And I get down and out a lot.  I’m also my own worst enemy because I do a lot

by Yoshua, San Mateo If I only had six words to give advice to give my ten-year-old self it would be “Always stay on your ten toes.” Obviously I’d say way more than just that but since you guys asked for a six word phrase that was it. The reason why I chose those words was so he could be more aware of his surroundings. And by that I mean to know friends aren’t always friends, to know friends could be fake, backstabbers, and the list could go forever.  Since I’ve never had any family except my mom I saw

by Brian, Santa Clara I’m going to write about this week’s topic, words from the wise, quote of the week, and being here in juvie. I get labeled as some kind of criminal but in reality in the outs it’s something different. In the outs I play in a band. I play Corridos to all my raza that slaps Mex music. The instrument I play is the tuba. It’s my passion since I was fourteen years of age. It’s funny how people here see me as a bad person. I mean, I did do some wrong, but you can always

by AH, Sacramento When I find someone not being truthful to me, I keep my distance, or I confront them about it. And I don’t trust them anymore, so our relationship would not be the same as before. I remember a time when someone was not honest, and they lost my trust.  It was a few days before I got arrested. I ran away from a very good home because of her, and I put my life in her hands. She told me that she was gonna take care of me and we was gonna be making money together.  I

by AS, Sacramento I matter in this life. I was put on this earth to be somebody. Even though I’m in jail, I still matter. My loved ones need me. I will contribute to help out the world. I was meant to be a positive person.  Somebody you can look up to when you need help. There are times in jail when you feel like you don’t matter. You do! Everybody matters. Everybody has a purpose in this life, they just have to find it.  I bring positive energy when I get around people. If anybody ever needs somebody to

by DB, Albuquerque, New Mexico The most memorable day I have ever had is when I met my baby momma. We were twelve years old at the movie theaters. She was my love at first sight. I think she felt the same way. We started texting and became a couple. By the age of thirteen she was pregnant. We had a miscarriage at six months along. That really hurt me. I did not know what to do or believe. We took a break. I was having a hard time taking the loss so I filled my life with drugs and

by Dylan, Sonoma  What do you see? Hmm, what do I see? Well, the world as it is today. It’s a world full of hate, anger, racism, and politics. Why is the world full of anger?  Well, because there’s too many stuck up people that are all about themselves. Why is this world full of hate? Because people are insecure about themselves, so they decide to hate on other people.  But last but not least, WHY? WHY DOES THE WORLD HAVE RACISM? Well, for a number of reasons. People think that where they were born is where you should stay.

by Young A, Albuquerque, New Mexico “You are powerful and your voice matters. You’re going to walk into many rooms in your life and career where you may be the only one who looks like you or who has had the experiences you’ve had. But you remember that when you are in those rooms, you are not alone. We are all in that room with you applauding you on. Cheering your voice. And just so proud of you. So you use that voice and be strong.” – Kamala Harris It is important to have a voice and speak up because

 by John, San Mateo Something that has happened to me that I will never forget was when I was able to get promoted to the ninth grade. It was a great moment for me to remember because I had classes I was failing which were math and history. Math was hard and has always been a difficult class for me to pass in school. I would ask for teachers for extra help after hours. It was frustrating because I would have a lot of questions like “What does the variable do in this equation?” And history was difficult because of the timeline