Category: The Beat Without

by Dortell Williams As I sat in my concrete cage, looking at the massive failure I’ve made of my life, I’ve wondered: “What is the secret to success?” What does it take to be successful? Over time, I came to recognize that this is where history comes into play. I’m not talking about going back centuries, though you can if you want. But just recent history is good enough. For instance, to see how failure occurs, all I needed was to look at myself: Hanging with the wrong crowd, not listening to sound advice, being sel sh and greedy. All

by Michael Mackey This program (The Beat Within) has changed my life by giving me the feedback and courage to open up about my problems, to seek help, understand things that I cannot gure out on my own, meet new friends (good friends), and to be heard by many. I didn’t really open up to people, I didn’t let people know the real me, when I wanted to be heard or understood, no one ever helped or listened to what I had to say. And those who did hear what I had to say twisted my words and took advantage

by Johnny Rodriguez May this letter be well received in a few years. I am humbly proud to return praying my letter and motivational poem touches your hearts and opens you up to the sobering facts of life. In December of 2013, almost three years ago, I lost a new, yet dear, friend, Alicia. At only fourteen she had been dealing with hardship of a broken home, gangs, and school. She was mercilessly gunned down in the drug and gang infested streets of Compton, California, before even having had the chance to mature out of that wayward life. Within the time

by James R. Metters Jr. When I was free on the streets I had a problem with people telling me what was right. I hustled in front of churches, disrespected evangelists, and mocked my elders. But now, irony had me in a strong headlock; I wanted to listen. This was a strange mental shift for me and my home boys who were used to me acting a fool. And when I really switched up a lot of the homies started hating. “Eh Jay, what’s up baby boy…where you going?” “I’m on my way to chapel.” I answered. “Is that right –

by Dortell Williams I had never really thought about what a friend was, much less a real friend. But after thinking about it, and having a lot of bad friends as examples, I know exactly what a good friend is supposed to be. First, bad friends are not really friends at all. There’s no such thing as a bad friend. In reality, there are just good friends and bad people. Bad people will dare you to do dangerous things you don’t want to do. Bad people will let you be the fall guy (or girl) for things that you didn’t

by Pao Yang Life in prison is very lonely, stressful, and dark like the black holes in space, which is capable of swallowing all of your dreams and goals. I am able to say that because at the age of sixteen, and through my sel sh actions, I was sentenced to life in prison. I traded away all of my teenage years of going to high school, a chance at driving a car; achieving my goals and career for being in prison, serving a sentence of 25 to LIFE for rst degree murder. I had to become a man in

by Miguel Quezada When I knew there was a chance that I could reach out to you young men and women in the Modesto Juvenile Hall, I was ready for the opportunity. You see, back in 1998 and ’99 from age sixteen to seventeen, I was in the max unit, and in 1999 I spent some time in the boy’s unit too. Back then I weighed about one hundred and fty pounds. But I felt a lot bigger because I carried within me a lot of resentment, loneliness, fear, and rejection. All of this spilled out into the world and

by A. Raheem Ballard Since the beginning of time, language has allowed people of all ethnicities to communicate, to be heard, and to be felt. Through the exchange of words, language has also allowed people to persuade others, and to be persuaded. For example, the ery speeches of Adolf Hitler convinced a nation of people that blonde hair and blue eyes was a sign of ethnic superiority. Then, there was the congregation of Jim Jones, which was tragically misled from America to Africa, only to commit mass suicide. These horri c acts were not only carried out with bad intentions,

by Michael Mackey Yes, I’ve been in many group homes and foster homes. I’m surprised I’m not the poster child for the foster system. I was rst placed in the foster system when I was seven years old. My twin sister, Michelle, and two younger brothers, Johnnie and John Earl were also with me. My uncles and aunties made the decision to place us in the foster system. I’m not sure if our granny was a part of that, but I think she knew. The only person who asked if we wanted or needed anything was the case worker who was

by Son Nguyen Our perceptions tend to change as we get older. When I rst got locked up in county jail, everyone pretty much knew I was going to be behind bars for a while because of the crime I committed. Those who had more experience with being in the system advised me to “Do the time, don’t let the time do you.” I took this to mean Man Up and not let the system break me no matter what happens. So when I came to prison with a life sentence I went along with what I was taught. Follow