Category: Piece of the Week

by Hd The real me is hidden in the dark. Stuck in my shell, never wanting to come out, afraid to be judged, scared not to be good enough. No one sees the real me.  Fake smiles and laughter.  Scared to feel scared to want and not be wanted back, curious of what people think.  How could they be so blind? So unaware. Maybe they just don’t seem to care. They act like they do, but if they did they would see that something is really wrong inside of me. Not crazy, just different.  Not like the rest.  When I

by Jv I feel like a caged bird. Not being able to fly is torture, literally. I’ll prove them all wrong, that I don’t belong here by staying out when they open my cage door to let me fly. But in the meantime, I sing. You may ask why? I’ve heard people say it’s because that’s what birds are made to do. I sing because it makes me feel free. It gives me hope. Although I do not literally sing, for I am not a bird, metaphorically I do sing. For when a bird sings, it does so not realizing that

by Elijah We’ve all had someone in our life that even the thought of their face can make your heart skip a beat. I had a friend who was very dear to my heart, but my actions caused our relationship to slowly wither away. I feel like there is still hope though because between us there was always something special; like a flower that needs water. We just need the right spark to ignite our flame that will start the fire that will last a lifetime.

by Aine I’ve lost too much on the streets that I cannot even comprehend. Many of my friends have gone on a different path in life and I wish I went with them. I’ve lost over half of my friends and gained new ones that have only dragged me down since. This is the first and last time I’ll be locked up. Dedicating this much time to the system is not the way of life. You’re locked up in this facility when you can honestly be anywhere else in the world. That thought haunts me every second of every day in

by Adrian What I see when I look in the mirror is a young handsome Hispanic male who has been troubled by drugs, violence and hell. I see, who I used to be, who I am now, and who I will be in the years to come. I want to get my life together, get a job, get females and have fun. I have been through a lot and I already know how it feels to lose. I can only imagine how it feels to win, kick back and listen to the blues. I see a scholar who has his whole

by Izais Detention… A place where “staff” run your life, a place where “freedom” is only a word you read in books or hear from kids who talk about it like they won’t ever know what it feels like to feel “free” again. Detention is a place where the word equality does not exist. Detention is a place that steals your youth; it robs you of the precious and unique experiences of young-adulthood. It grips its cold, dark fingers around your self-pride, self-confidence, self-reassurance, and self-everything. It slithers in your conscious and slowly poisons the very few thoughts that keep

by Felisha My nickname is Felisha. My life wasn’t always crappy. The first three years of my life were the best from what I remember. I remember my mom with long beautiful hair, with pink cheeks and luscious lips. Little by little she faded away, the meth and heroin took her from me. I remember living in the projects/warzone/studio. Our studio wasn’t the best, but it was more than enough to me. I’d give anything to be back there before the drugs when it was me, my mom, her girl, my little brother Aliace. Around three maybe four years old, a

by Blaze When I was sitting in the back of that police car, I was thinking about a lot of things. I already have bad anxiety and PTSD so I was having lots and lots of flashbacks on my life. I was thinking a lot about my family, of me not being able to go back home, thinking wow, what a failure. I am thinking about all of those promises that I made. That I was going to change my ways and be a better person. And thinking about how many people that I let down. I had a really bad

by Joey When I was sitting in the back of that police car, I was thinking about when was the next time I would sleep in my own bed again? My heart was pounding, my mind was racing, and my body was perspiring. I was looking out of the window at other people who looked at me as though I was a monster. I put my head down. I was embarrassed of myself. I refused eye contact. I wanted to vanish. I could feel people’s eyes staring right at me. It felt horrible. I don’t like being labeled as a

by Jamil I just sit and think of my past and I’m like dang, what a waste of life. Nothing but the same thing everyday. Running and scared of what? One day on November 1st, I woke up so happy like always and it was just a normal day for me. Just like every day and I wanted to go to my best friend Alric’s house so bad to get Wi Fi for music and Facebook. So I went to his house. I remember the last words I told my mom and my brothers were, “I love you mom I’ll