by Uz, San Francisco One day I will go home. One day I will. One day I will see a better future. One day I will get released. One day I won’t be in jail. I’ve been away for a year and my life has completely changed. I have some friends waiting for me and I have family waiting for me. So, I won’t be all alone. It will be a big transition for me. I’m scared. What if things do not work out? I don’t know. I really can’t see myself going to jail again. The only big thing
Continue ReadingMore Than Just a Teacher
by W, CCWF in Chowchilla, CA The stranger who changed my life was my high school/continuation teacher, Ms. Braver. I was new to the city and was in juvie, but because my parents were still commuting over fifty miles away to work daily, the judge refused to release me without twenty-four hour supervision. My parents talked to my school teacher and she not only agreed to supervise me thirty minutes before school, but until my dad came home each day. This lady was a total stranger to me, and I to her, yet she committed to supervising me so I
Continue ReadingHaters Weigh Me Down
by Angela Zuniga, CCWF in Chowchilla, CA What weighs me down is my haters. Not them personally but their words and beliefs of me. I become so mentally exhausted when I allow their thoughts to become my thoughts. Words are powerful, but going forward I refuse to allow the negativity to consume me. I am beautiful, strong, and smart. I believe in myself and have plenty of people that believe the best of me. Instead of focusing on the few haters, I’ma let them hate. I allow my words, my beliefs, and the thoughts of my friends and support system
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Season’s Greetings to our Beat Within Community
The Beat Within wishes you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Thank you for your love and support while we continue to grieve the lossof our beloved founder, David Inocencio. We think perhaps San Quentin News summed it up the best… “Founder of The Beat Within touched countless lives, leaving behind a powerful legacy of service and compassion with his ever present smile and the power of encouragement, legendary advocate for incarcerated youth, David Inocencio died in July after losing a courageous battle with cancer. His service to those impacted by the juvenile and criminal justice systems will live on
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Volume 28.41/42
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingEd Note 28.41/42
A big hello, and a warm welcome to our readers and writers near and far. We’re back with another double issue, celebrating the brilliant testimonies of our incarcerated youth and their allies from across the country. There are few celebrations we’d like to mention, we’ve been honored to begin The Beat Within workshops in Stanislaus County. Led by Marian Martino, the voices of Stanislaus County have been published in a handful of our previous issues, and we welcome them to the TBW family and look forward to sharing their voices. Another huge milestone, The Beat Within celebrates 27 of service!
Continue ReadingI Remember When
by M, Sacramento I remember when I got good grades in school and wanted to do a lot of stuff. I would go to my dad’s and we would go bowling. I slowly started getting bad grades and stopped wanting to go do things. I didn’t want to go to my dads or my grandmas anymore. I actually didn’t even want to be home. My grades slowly started dropping, they went from As and Bs to Cs and Ds. From there they got worse, I was leaving after school and hanging out all day. I wasn’t doing homework, I was
Continue ReadingA Perfect Picture
by BK, Santa Cruz I would take a picture of me and my friend, my little brother and stepdad (AKA Ramon) while the background’s a beautiful sunset with an owl in the background. And aguachile as the food. My fave book is “Charlotte’s Web.” My fave view was being in the mountains and the view was the sun in the middle of the woods and it was yellow, pink. My journey’s crazy. I’d met people I never think I’ll stop talking to. My mom doesn’t really care about anyone, so I just had to learn to not care. My dad
Continue ReadingHad to go Back to my Childhood
by Olegario Ambriz, San Quentin State Prison, CA I had to go back to my childhood and reflect on my past traumas. I had to get in touch with my inner child, writing a letter to the hurt and lonely child within me. Letting him know I was there for him and not to be afraid because I was there to protect him from anybody that tried to harm him in any way, shape or form. I learned that every time my inner child acted up, I did something wrong by committing a crime. That was how my inner child
Continue ReadingFifty Years With Two Life Sentences
by Jorge Lopez, San Quentin State Prison, CA Hello, my name or where I’m from aren’t important. Today, I am serving a sentence of fifty years with two life sentences for a first-degree murder with enhancements (extra time). Sadly, I am identified by a set of numbers. I have been stripped of my name and freedom because of the bad choices I made almost seventeen years ago. At that time, I had turned eighteen years old and like all of us behind prison walls, I lacked a positive role model. I just had a desire to be accepted by my
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