Category: Piece of the Week

-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.

-Nicholas, Sonoma  Born in Veracruz, Mexico, my dad was the youngest of eight. His family was very poor, and in search of a better life he moved to the United States in 2000 when he was twenty-seven. After hearing about a high paying job, my dad moved to Aberdeen, Washington. That is where my father met my mother. A couple of years of dating and my brother was born. One year later, I was born.  Times were tough for my family. Money was a big struggle for them. We ended up moving down to Sonoma after my father’s sister offered

-Uz, San Francisco Left behind, behind these walls, nowhere to go with a lot to leave behind. Family, kids, opportunities. You see there’s a lot you don’t appreciate when you are free.  Actually, let me rephrase. Value the things around you, like your freedom and the people who care for you and the things you enjoy until you don’t got it anymore. Think before you act. Think before you move because then you can end up just like everyone else who can’t because it was too late.  Then you’ll be left behind. Missed, forgotten, and a place that can break

-Jason, San Francisco  I think that if I was living in a different era, it would be one thousand years in the future. I would choose that time period because we would be able to live after all the wars have gone down. We would get a better understanding of where we stand in the universe.  I feel like it’s important to get that what is holding us back is our thought process as well as the moral compass. I feel like in the future, we would surpass all the diseases such as cancer and learn more about how powerful

-Hopeful, Yolo  I miss being free and just being in control of my life. Being locked up in this facility is really difficult. I have a journal I write in so that when I’m free, I’ll read it and remember how hard it was not being in control of anything.  I miss being with my parents and just being able to drive my car. I’ve been locked up five times already, and this time being the hardest. I hate not being able to be on my phone and eat fast food. I miss driving around and jamming my music.  It’s

-IR, Albuquerque I miss my family. I miss my sister. I wish I could just see her and talk to her just one more time. I want a relationship with my mother. Oh, why can’t you just put some effort and see me? I miss my dad. He needs to get out so he can visit me, and I can call him.  I miss my brothers. I want to understand why they can’t give you guys a second chance. I want to see that woman who knows how to calm me down and make me happy and makes me laugh,