Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingMonth: February 2021
Ed Note 26.07/08
Welcome back Beat lovers to another fabulous one of a kind double issue, 25.27/28, of The Beat Within! We hope that our community of readers, writers, and supporters are staying safe and healthy during these challenging times? As we’ve done in the past, we are highlighting the reflections of our student interns from the Urban School of San Francisco. These students have been working hard and diligently during their school semester to transcribe pieces for publication. Below, we welcome Alex and CG who describes how interning for The Beat has brought a new found respect for our writers. The writings
Continue ReadingThe Beat Within Me
by CD, Sacramento Now, music is a second language to me. It brings my other half. One half loves to sing the songs and write them but the other, loves any song she can dance to. She escapes from reality with music. Let me introduce you to my first half. She’s a very intelligent and unique girl who loves making music, mostly raps, but she also loves singing. The music she makes allows her to be free. It allows her to express herself and get things off her mind. She puts words on papers or the notes in her phone
Continue ReadingTen Year Old Me
by Yoshua, San Mateo If I only had six words to give advice to give my ten-year-old self it would be “Always stay on your ten toes.” Obviously I’d say way more than just that but since you guys asked for a six word phrase that was it. The reason why I chose those words was so he could be more aware of his surroundings. And by that I mean to know friends aren’t always friends, to know friends could be fake, backstabbers, and the list could go forever. Since I’ve never had any family except my mom I saw
Continue ReadingMy Passion
by Brian, Santa Clara I’m going to write about this week’s topic, words from the wise, quote of the week, and being here in juvie. I get labeled as some kind of criminal but in reality in the outs it’s something different. In the outs I play in a band. I play Corridos to all my raza that slaps Mex music. The instrument I play is the tuba. It’s my passion since I was fourteen years of age. It’s funny how people here see me as a bad person. I mean, I did do some wrong, but you can always
Continue ReadingBrave Soul
by Michael Mackey, San Quentin State Prison, CA To me being brave means David and Goliath, standing up for something or someone you believe in. Who comes to mind when I hear this word, that could be a few people but the best person I can share with you all today is me. I am the most brave person I know because I stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. I stand up for myself at times, but I put others first before me. Well, I used to do that all the time, blindly, and didn’t even
Continue ReadingLiving With A Mental Illness
by Chad Fitzpatrick, Bayport, Minnesota This is about my life and observation of it and changes as I change. I would like to share with you what living with a mental illness is like and how I’ve learned to manage it. Every mental illness is different because every person is different. There is no easy cures or treatments but there are many different tools available to us so we can learn how to manage and survive living with a mental illness. It is us to us to figure out how to manage our own individual mental illness, which at times
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Volume 26.05/06
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingEd Note 26.05/06
Greetings friends of The Beat Within! Welcome to yet another fabulous double issue, 26.0506. This latest issue is full of wonderful surprises. We love the loyalty you many contributors share in each issue, if you are writing us from the free world, during one of our weekly workshops, or simply reaching out with an unsolicited piece of writing and a desire to connect. You are truly appreciated. With COVID still challenging us all to be cautious with our lives and to do things from a distance, yet, thanks to all our great colleagues and partners, The Beat Within goes
Continue ReadingI Now Know Better
by AH, Sacramento When I find someone not being truthful to me, I keep my distance, or I confront them about it. And I don’t trust them anymore, so our relationship would not be the same as before. I remember a time when someone was not honest, and they lost my trust. It was a few days before I got arrested. I ran away from a very good home because of her, and I put my life in her hands. She told me that she was gonna take care of me and we was gonna be making money together. I
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