Category: Piece of the Week

-David, Sonoma  I’ve always been different from all of my classmates or my peers. I’ve been called different for a lot of things, whether it was because of my childhood or the things I do or how I do them, and even what I’ve been through.  The way I talk is a big one. I have been around a lot of “hoodlums” and I talk a lot of slag. I talk a little bit different, as people have told me a few times. I’ve had a lot of traumas as a young minority. Hung around different people my whole life,

-JP, Albuquerque  I will never forget how to choose loved ones over someone you’ve fallen in love with. It was April fifteenth, 2023, when I had fallen madly in love with this one boy. It felt like a dream come true, it was only a slight talk on the dance floor before he asked to dance.  I felt like a princess, and how he called me “beautiful like the night sky.”  He was always complimenting me until one cold night we were out, took a couple of drinks, and like the wise say, “drunk words are sober thoughts.”  Oh my,

-Don, San Diego  Some people say, “new year, new me,” a new year to do better things. Forget about the past year and go into the new year with things to achieve. Learn from the past year to complete your dreams.  Welcome to the new chapter. It’s a new year to become anything you want to be. Actor, poet, rapper. Look back on the past year and cry of laughter. Leave behind the negativity because now you have bigger responsibilities.  A different year, a new approach, you can’t go back to non-progressive activities. Wanting to better yourself than the past

-Margucci, San Francisco Grew up in the trenchesAll that shhh had shaped my mindSayin’ momma I’m a listenJust ‘cause I’m locked up doin’ timeKnowin’ I ain’t gone listenI said that shhh the last three timesWhat if shhh was different?Picture livin’ like you whiteImagine you got privilegeAnd two parents that can guideLivin’ in the burbsAin’t gotta watch nobody dieAnd now you can see college‘Cause you ain’t gotta slide‘Cause when you in the trenchesIf you ain’t on ten then you gone dieI’m sorry it’s not differentAnd what if shhh don’t matter?Keep yo’ cards on yo’ chestBe prudent and when approaching matterDo everything

-JS, Sonoma Some people say we live to die, and I agree, but we should live to enjoy and leave this world and life knowing we left a part of us or a mark for people to remember us by.  There are people that are going through a lot and may say life is bull shhh, but I think it isn’t because honestly if you think of it, there are others probably going through much worse than we are, which is why I enjoy my life. I know I’m incarcerated, but I still find ways to enjoy life in a

-DB, Albuquerque  Love hurts but when it’s good and healthy it’s the best thing ever. It’s rare to find someone who could understand you and your love language. Someone with mutual understanding. My situation might be different because I have a lil’ baby girl, so finding someone who will love not only me but my hija (daughter) too is hard. Especially, someone mature enough to be a man.  When I find that, best believe I will give it my all and show all my love and respect! One day I want a big family with the man I love. I

-LD, Albuquerque I’m thankful for each and every day I’m alive. Even though I’m not in the best place or even in the best situation, I’m still thankful. I’m thankful for all my loved ones, family and friends. I’m thankful for all the blessings God gives me every day and all the opportunities that have come my way and have still yet to come.  I’m also thankful for my daughter, even though I’m not the biological father. I still love and treat her like she’s mine. I will forever be thankful for my grandma. Without her, I wouldn’t be who

-Wily, San Mateo  When I go back and think about my journey, there are some moments that stand out, but the one that really stands out would be early June 2024. That day was my happiest and the best day of my life.  It all began early January 2024. I was in a quasi-military school in a residential program where I agreed to go for five and a half months. It was cool, but it wasn’t the same. My day would start at four-thirty AM doing exercises, making our bed, cleaning our space, and at six-thirty AM we would go

-Batman, Santa Cruz I’m not too sure what’s better. In a sense, as a leader I would assume if people love you, they will follow you no matter what. But even if someone loves you, they still can betray you.  As for being feared, if someone is scared of you, they will follow. As a leader, you have to be able to guide people. If you’re loved, they will willingly listen to your advice. If you’re feared, people will listen no matter what.  To me, if you don’t have both, you’re not a good leader. Being feared will keep people

-Kamron, San Francisco A lesson learned? Well, one is that we all can change, so don’t never think it’s too late or that we can’t change, because we can. It’s just you have to really want to, and you want to need to. Not only for yourself, but for the people you hurt while making your own mistakes, or when you’re punishing yourself.  Sometimes we have to love ourselves for our mistakes because that’s what makes us better people, and no one is perfect.