Welcome friends to another amazing issue of writing and art from the inside. Happy 2019! For our first double issue of the year, we’re pleased to present you two more reflections from our wonderful interns at Urban School of San Francisco, where students have been transcribing pieces for The Beat Without. Below you’ll find a passionate essay written by Lizzie, where she explores how hate isolates people from each other, and how The Beat Within works against hate by connecting people with radically different experiences and perceptions. We’re also featuring Sunil, who writes an empowering and motivation letter to his past self, inspired by a piece that he transcribed by one of our longtime Beat Without writers, Vernon Smith. We’re deeply humbled to be able to provide this bridge between our writers on the inside and writers on the outside. Thank you for your excellent work, Lizzie and Sunil! Â
Thoughts on Hate
In 2018 alone, there have been approximately three hundred mass shootings. It seems like nearly every day when I turn on the news I hear about another hate crime against a minority. Every time I hear about one of these shootings, it seems distant; like it’s something that doesn’t affect me. But then I hear about the shooting near Pepperdine (University), only five hours from my own home. There’s no rhyme or reason to these persistent violent crimes, merely that they’re formed of hate and exacted through that same evil. In the world we live in today, it’s hard to imagine how all this anger can dissipate. It seems as though too many people host anger against others–how can we ever come back from this?
But with this anger then consumes the media, I also hear of vigil’s held in honor of the dead. Targeted communities band together in unity as hate attempts to break them apart. With this rage comes a solidification of identity. Hate kills, yet it also reminds us of how important our beliefs and values are. I make no excuse for this hate: people are dying of gun violence and hate crimes nearly every week and there is nothing that can every justify that. But instead of wallowing and letting terrible acts against humanity define us, we have to unite and combat the hate we’re faced with. In order to help the minorities and other groups being targeted, we must align ourselves to band together.
There is no easy solution to the turmoil our country is enduring right now. If there was, we wouldn’t still be seeing students killed at school or people being murdered inside a Synagogue. If there was an easy way to stop this violence and hate, it would have occurred when these shootings first started. People have opinions that are formed through their experience in the world–there is little we can do to shape these experiences. But this hate that warrants extreme physical violence is a different evil entirely: that hate is born from ignorance and fear of those who are different. Instead of recognizing privilege, these people run from it. People are terrified of the changes we’re observing in our country. Our society is becoming more accepting of others who break the social norm, allowing freedom of speech and expression in a way we’ve never seen before.
Getting to go to school in San Francisco has brought me into this world of expression that I hope can spread throughout the whole country. Writing for The Beat Within has allowed me to connect with others with wholly different experiences than mine. Hate stems from isolation and a lack of connection to others different than yourself. This hate can be worked through, but it will take time. We need to accept each other for our differences and move past the fear of change in order to eliminate this violence.
-Lizzie, Urban School of San Francisco
Self- Love, A Letter to Myself
Of all The Beat Within pieces I read, I think I was the most inspired by Vernon Smith. He was genuine and honest. He had a tough past, and so much of his piece was about learning to love who he was, and who he is now. He healed himself through self-love, which is one of the hardest things in the world to do. I rely so much on the love of others to get me through hard times, and often cannot find a place to love myself.
In his piece, Vernon Smith referred to a higher power who inspired and guided him. Whether you believe in God or not, the amount of inner power Smith had to pull himself out of depression is astronomical. Not only did he climb out of this mental hole, but he also found peace within himself.
Reading his piece has inspired me to write a letter to my own past self.
Dear Sunil,
I know you think that you are wasting time. You think you’re wasting life, but all the roads you take lead somewhere. You will find new people to love, and one of those people will be yourself.
You will make a lot of mistakes, but those will seem like nothing in the grand scheme of things.
You will be strong, despite how weak you may feel right now. Every challenge that gets thrown at you will build your character, even though it feels like it’s destroying you.
You will have hard choices to make. You’ll have to decide what you want to do with your life. You will have to decide what and who you want to be committed to. When making these decisions, turn to the people you trust the most. Look to your friends and family, because they love you, and will always help you make the right decision.
But most of all, trust yourself. At the end of the day, you choose your own path. You have the power to choose, and don’t give that up to pressures from society or from your peers. Your life is yours to live.
You will hate yourself. Everyone does at some point, but no one is perfect. Don’t focus too much on what you could have done and who you could have been. Love yourself for who you are right now.
Look in the mirror. Always try to know yourself. When you forget who you are is when you make the decisions you’ll regret the most. You’re changing a lot, and will not always be the same person you were yesterday. Recognize that this happens, and always strive to maintain a relationship with yourself.
Don’t hurt other people. There is no point in being someone you’re not. You would never hurt anyone. It’s how you were raised. Be proud of that.
Life is always worth it. You may be in a deep rut, but there is a way out. Don’t lose sight of the light at the end of the tunnel. And if you do lose sight, always remember that it’s there, you just have to push through the dirt.
And lastly, learn from others. Don’t let your judgments of someone inform how you take their words. The only reason I am writing this letter is because someone else inspired me. You can always learn from your fellow human beings.
-Sunil, Urban School of San Francisco
We certainly hope the wisdom of Lizzie, Sunil and our many-many readers inside this amazing publication of writing and art will inspire you to be the best person possible. We all have a role in making this world a better place and we can’t thank you enough for not only reading this work from our young and old, inside and out, but also having the courage to contribute and share your truths with our many readers all over the USA. Thank you again for your continued support in our work. Don’t hesitate to reach out if we can be of any service to you. We can’t do this work alone, it takes working together as a community in support of one another. All the best to you in 2019! Drop us a line anytime.