We would like to welcome you readers to another double edition, 25.47/48, of the one and only The Beat Within magazine. As most of you know, the COVID pandemic is taking this country by storm, as bad as it has ever been, as we await for a vaccine and cure, as we are truly feeling the effects in our writing sessions, as all of the institutions have smaller populations and are social distancing, as well as some sites are having to quarantine units who might have come into contact with COVID. It is such a strange time, as the year comes to an end, but The Beat goes on, as we show up week in and week out to lead our groups, or do one on one sessions, depending on how bad things are inside when it comes to COVID. We are grateful to our young writers and the staff (teachers and counselors) for their support in helping us run the best virtual programs possible. This week we have our colleague, OT, taking the reigns of this week’s ed note, so allow us to pass the keyboard to our dear friend!
This is OT once again coming at you readers and writers live from the Central American Country of Managua, Nicaragua. We’re getting closer to the holidays and even with all the controversy and adversity that all communities are facing around the world due to this pandemic, you could still feel the sense of Christmas and The New Year right around the corner. Big companies are extending Black Friday’s, giving big discounts, people that are cash strapped are running up their credit bills to keep the latest and best video games in their kids PlayStation console, Nintendo or whatever. Clothes and shoes are still being bought by people who have money, while some other people, are just scraping to get by to put food on the table for their families.
Well, point is the holidays are here, and it’s that time of the year for many of us where we are forced to put our jolly faces on for our neighbors, strangers, friends and acquaintances. “Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, have a great holiday,” verses are exchanged at grocery stores, libraries, work, and even inside of juvenile hall institutions and even behind the cold hard bricks of prison facilities.
Let me not trip myself up on my very own words, I actually like the holiday season for many reasons, because of the positivity that you can feel in the air, I like to think positive, and I believe in being positive because it’s a mantra that I live and die by in this day and age. But this year is a bit different for many of us. The Corona virus has been able to shut down countries world wide and has forced many business to close forcing the economy to take a sharp down turn for many people around the globe.
This year has been a year of loss. Many lost their lives to the virus, over a quarter of a million people lost their lives in the US alone. People lost their jobs, lost their houses, apartments, and some even lost their ability to roam free because of county shutdowns. Kids couldn’t finish their school year normally, heck my little sister’s 8th grade graduation this year was all online and school is currently being done online for many.
This year has been a challenging year for EVERYBODY. Tragedy was magnified this year, even sports were shut down for a bit and gave way to police brutality being put on front street. I’m trying to do my best to sum up everything to get to the point that I’m trying to get to. I’m addressing everybody, but I have a special challenge for all the young ones that are currently reading this right now. I’m addressing you young people, because you are the future. You are the ones in charge of carrying the torch. Us older folks, are just going to get older, but us older folks have a responsibility of trying to put the younger folks in the best situation to succeed as well. That means you guys have to learn from our mistakes, learn from the mistakes that the older folks that we looked up too, also made.
Life is a cycle ladies and gentlemen and if you didn’t notice, life is a bit repetitive in many ways. You are born, you wear diapers, you eat, you poop, you grow up go to school, make friends, and that’s where it goes left or right for many of us. Some of us, (myself included) made choices that affected us heavily, like joining gangs, selling drugs, committing crimes, going to juvie, headed to placements and then graduated to the adult prison system. I myself, got out of juvie, then went to county jail a few times, then went straight to Federal Prison.
So let’s hold it right there. This message is for everyone, but for those that are about to get out from juvenile hall, or county, or whatever, please don’t keep doing what you were doing that got you locked up, but most importantly stop thinking how you were thinking before. When we’re out there living that street life, we tend to think only of ourselves. We tend to get selfish and only think about our needs and our wants. Many of you that get out, will get out anxious to make up for the lost time you donated to the system. Many of you will get out and feel not only the economic pressure to try to make a living and survive, but you also have a deeper pressure of not returning to the old lifestyle you once lived.
This is not a lecture to scold you, because I will go ahead and switch it up and address the grown-ups, the adults and the many folks who will take the time to read this because we as adults have to hold ourselves accountable too.
Giving Tuesday just passed by, and many of you will probably agree with what I’m about to say, and many of you will disagree with what I’m about to say. But when we were little we grew up with the custom of receiving gifts for our birthdays, holidays and even on our parents’ pay days, etc.
A colleague of mine, sent an email out saying it’s “Giving Tuesday.” (Thanks Lisa for the idea) I have never heard of that before. But we all like receiving gifts. We all like receiving things for our birthdays, for the holidays, and many of us like it. Heck I like it. But I’ll tell you what. Now that I’m older, there is something that I take much pride and joy in even more, and that’s giving someone a gift. I get more joy in giving than receiving. However, giving someone a physical gift is not what Giving Tuesday, nor what the Holidays is all about.
Anyone can give anyone a gift. It’s simple you go and buy a present and give it to someone. But this year many of us don’t need many that physical gift. The gift of giving something to someone is not just a physical present, sometimes you may need to lend your ear to someone who needs attention. Someone maybe going through something serious, maybe they lost a relative, lost their job or maybe really going through it. You may need to give your TIME to listen to someone and let them vent.
You may need to give this person some advice. You may need to give your family your word that you won’t go back to jail. The gift of giving is not about a physical present, it’s about giving love and care to those you love, but also helping those around you who you see who may need help. You may need to give someone advice, or at least a different perspective so they can see life in a different light.
I want to challenge you all to make “Giving” a part of your everyday life and not just for the holidays. There should be no reason why we can’t give our time to help someone out on any given day and not just during this Holiday season. Holidays is propaganda folks so companies could sell their merchandise, but real life is not propaganda. We are all going through somethings, and sometimes we have to put aside our personal challenges, to help those that are really struggling. It’s hard to do folks. It’s hard to be consistent. I’m not asking anyone to be a savior or to put your cape on and be a superhero.
All I’m asking you all to give your mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, sister, brother, neighbor a hug, a kiss. Show some love. Some of you already do, but just do it more often. Tell people how much you love them or care about them. I send a text to my little sister every single day telling her to have a good day and telling her that I love her. Put your differences to the side with those you may have problems with and have some peace. Give out positive vibes to your family friends and those around you. Give the best version of you to the world every single day. That’s the real gift because you are all special. You are all a gift to someone. You are gift to your family, you are a gift to us.
So be you. Give the best version of yourself to those you love, and even those who you may not like. Don’t let the holiday season bring out the best version of you, challenge yourself to bring out the best version of YOU every single day. You will have days when you’re not perfect. There will be days when you make mistakes. There will be days when it seems like it just rains and rains and the sun will never come out. But don’t let that deter you from being that special you. Show the world, your community, your loved ones, your neighbors who you really are. Give it everything you have EVERY SINGLE day whether that be in relationships with your girl/boyfriend, your mom, your family, your job, sports, etc. When you give it your best, it is truly inspiring.
I want you all to do your best to enjoy these holidays no matter the circumstances, but I also want you all to do your best to enjoy your life. You are all special and a gift in this world. You are ALL special, matter of fact, so special that you have the ability to make someone else FEEL special on a bad day. Just don’t be afraid to give it your all. One love to everybody locked down or going through the struggle. Stay strong and motivated! The Beat keeps going and going… Much Love!
Thank you, OT, for the love, you said it quite eloquently in your message. We appreciate you. We’ll leave it right there, as we send you our love and respect, as we work towards completing 2020 and embracing 2021! Reach out anytime, we’d love to hear from you. Thank you writers and artists for your wonderful submissions! We are incredibly grateful.