Category: Piece of the Week

-Nicholas, Sonoma Pride to the sun, to the wind in my lungsOh, wretched man I am, I have a lack of prideOh, how the deeds I could have doneWould have been great, but I fell victimTo my thoughts in the days I felt grey.The days I couldn’t cure, that’s why prideTo the moon, to the sun, to the stars,Because through everything I’ve lived,I’ve seen pride through my eyes allBut from within, for I was tempted with sin,Oh, wretched man I am.Pride to my father, my brother, my mother,How proud I am to those who loved me,My acts too little to

-JDC, Albuquerque I’m proud of my mom. It’s easy to be proud of a parent just because they’re your parent, but my mom has been through hell itself. I watched her from a young age struggle with her mental health. I know that if I struggled, I would try and give up.  She never tried to give up but instead found ways to cope and still be the best mom I could’ve asked for. She implanted strong morals in all of her children. It might not have made sense back then, but the more I grew up, I realized I

-A, San Bernardino Feeling worthy can be hard for some people, and personally for me as well. Sometimes other people or situations can make you question your worth. You should always remember you are important and loved.  Just because a minor situation happened, you should never think low of yourself. Be kind to yourself and have self-respect. Knowing your worth will help you gain confidence and not let anyone walk all over you. Always think about how much you matter before saying, doing, or thinking something negative about yourself!

-Ryder, San Francisco Ever since I was very young, I’ve had a love for art. Unfortunately, there are not too many careers that pay well in the art fields. I never really considered working an art related job until my sophomore year of high school.  I was in a drawing and design class, and we had a one month unit on architecture. I fell in love with the process of drawing buildings and then even more so the process of designing them.  The summer after that school year, I took a college class on architecture and knew I wanted to

-Margucci, San Francisco I speak truth when I speakAll my life I held it inIt’s time to let it freeI’m not gonna lie, I’m a tweakerPlease just let me beDon’t like situation ultimatumsLike either you or meBecause if it go down, I’m goin upI’m choosin meMan, I think I love this girlProlly found my peaceI’m on to bigger, better thingsHear it in my speechI’m workin hard, I got scarsDreams within my reachI want to wake up and see wavesHouse up on the beachIf you tryna hear the truthThen you should speak to me.

-Lul B, San Mateo  One day I was laying down on the couch when I heard a woman scream. I wanted to help, so I got up. Then I heard a loud noise outside of my house. I opened the door, and I saw two people arguing. I wasn’t surprised because it’s a pretty normal thing in my neighborhood. A man was yelling at a pregnant woman and the woman seemed to be crying. It reminded me of the old days between my mom and my dad and I got angry. Then I saw the man push the female away,

-JJ, Albuquerque  Kindness to me is being thoughtful and doing nice things. Things like throwing your neighborhood’s trash, or walking an old person’s dog. What I like to do is tell people they’re okay when they are having a bad time in their life.  Like here in juvenile hall, kids come in and cry because they want to go home. I tell them they will be okay and will be home soon and not to worry. Knowing I won’t be home for twenty-plus years, I like to comfort kids who will be home in a few weeks or a couple

-Professor Fatback, Santa Cruz  I feel like things that all humans deserve are free health care and clothes. Yes, I understand that people gotta work for that stuff, but to be honest, those two things should be free and even food.  Another thing I think people deserve is the truth, no matter what and even if it’s gonna hurt someone or help them. Everyone deserves to know the truth.  I also feel that everyone deserves to be loved, genuinely loved by someone. Not fake love where they say I love you here and there. I’m talking about someone you can

-YM, Albuquerque I had a few teachers in my life. My first teachers were my mom and dad. They always showed me right from wrong, and how to treat the people you love or respect. They also taught me how to love. I appreciate them a lot for that.  My other teachers have been my big brothers. My first big brother is my blood. We have the same mom. I’m not gonna say his name because he wouldn’t want me to, but he taught me how to be a man, he and my dad did. He taught me to stand

-Gabriel, Santa Cruz  I deserve to be home with my family. So far, I’ve been trying my absolute best, but I keep finding myself in situations. I just wanna move on with life and move on with probation.  I’m sad to see myself back here. I was doing so good, almost off probation. I wish I woulda thought about my actions before doing what I did. If I do get released, I wanna engage in sports to keep me occupied with my day and I just wanna prove I can do good and successfully get off probation.  I wish I