Year: 2021

by DJ, Sacramento I am determined to change my old habits, to make a change. I do not know anyone who likes to be in jail, on probation or in the system their whole life. I do not want to be incarcerated my whole life and I do not want my little brothers to follow the same path. It is not worth it, and it is not worth your life.  I am determined to do anything to better myself. I can better myself by expanding my learning and by making better choices. For me to succeed, it will take for

by Jose, Santa Clara My dad is my hero. I’ve always had a good relationship with my dad. My dad was always there for me. He never let me down. He would work from 5am to 10pm at night everyday. Even though he worked late shifts, he still came home and showed me that love.  There was always food on the table. He worked hard as a truck driver and as a construction worker. When I was four he was deported to Mexico. A year later, he came back. In that year that he was gone, we lost our house.

by C, Sacramento I write to express myself, to release the pain, or to get things off my shoulders. It’s like if I don’t got no one to talk to, I can write my feelings down on a paper and feel better with myself. I know some of this is published, and it can help someone else by telling my story.  Sometimes, they can relate to my story because I read people’s stories that are published and or some books and it helps me, as a person to do better or have a better perspective on some things in life.

by David-Michael, Santa Clara My hero is my sister. Ever since we were young I was always getting into trouble, either if it was fighting or causing problems. My family stopped caring, started calling me a delinquent or the black sheep of the family. But my sister was never like that. She always took care of me, left dinner on the table when I would come home late, or even after a fight when I would come home bleeding and bruised up, she never judged me. She would always clean my cuts and scold me as if she was my