We are back, after our summer (4th of July) break. We hope all is well with you? We are grateful to all our partners for continuing to share our prompts even during our break from workshops, thank you! We also appreciate your patience in getting this latest magazine in your hands, as we pushed our publishing deadline up a week, as we truly attempted to embrace our time off.
In this latest 76 page issue, we have more writings from our dear friends in Rivarde Juvenile Hall in the Jefferson Parish in Louisiana. We also want to welcome our new friends from YTC (Youth Transition Campus) in San Diego, CA. We are thrilled to build with our “new” young writers, teachers and probation. We are thrilled to have East Mesa Juvenile Hall, and now YTC participating in our writing sessions moving forward.
All right, let’s pass the keyboard to our colleague, OT, who will complete this editorial note…
This is OT reporting live from the Hot Tropical, muggy and drizzling skies of Managua Nicaragua. Salutations to all The Beat readers and writers within our community and I’m gonna go ahead and jump straight into my spiel like I would dive into the pool on a fresh hot summer day.
There are two topics that caught my attention, one topic on being scared and another topic about being worried. See, I consider myself a worrier. Believe it or not, I’ve always been a worrier. I’ve always been a worrier because I’ve seen so much shhh in life. Being worried, is almost like being scared, but worrying is like the prequel to being scared.
You start off worrying and then the scared feeling comes in, it’s like those of us that were scared of the dark as kids. I was one of those kids too. First comes the clock. You start looking at the time, like “dang, it’s almost bedtime.” Because let’s face it, it wasn’t the actual dark we were all scared of, it was the fact that we felt alone in the dark. And even with people around us, we couldn’t see them, so that scared us even more.
Because when you were out in the streets playing kickball, or you were at home playing video games way after the sun has set, we didn’t care to think about the dark being our biggest adversary at the time. In December during wintertime the sun sets around five pm, and there is no way no how, that any of us were even thinking about bed time around five pm. Some of us haven’t even ate dinner at the time yet.
Some of us hadn’t even done our homework yet, probably, and some of our parents probably weren’t even home at the time. But granted, you had the lights on. Maybe you had all the lights on in the house, apartment, or studio. It’s good. I understand. I’m not a Mr. Know It All, but I just happen to have a really good memory of my younger years.
But the worrying part comes in around nine pm. I don’t know what your bedtimes were but, mine was ten pm when I was a young stud. 9:57pm, damn here we go, and then click, click! Click! You could hear the lights turn off in every room. All of a sudden you’re on the lookout for the Demogorgon.
Your imagination takes you on a journey to all kinds of crazy thoughts. It’s a process. It’s a procedure, just for you to go ahead and experience all over again the next day, in different fashion, and maybe not exactly at the same time.
Being scared, being worried. “What’s the point of all this OT? We know you was a little scary punk, afraid of the dark.”
Here’s my main worry, as I sit here and write these words, I think you would be surprised by how many times I think about all you folks. Not just you guys and gals that are locked up in these juvenile facilities, but the older cats too, my family, my ex-community (back in the Bay Area), my current community here in Nicaragua.
It worries me that even after being afraid of the dark for so many years, many of us still live in the dark. We still have no clue where we are going and can’t see anything else beyond our hood, and we still believe all the hype we see on social media. Now, that’s scary and worrisome to me.
Recently I read a great piece of writing from one of you, let me quote what this young man said.
“I think it’s pretty common especially for Zoomers to let ourselves be comforted by fantasy presented to us by social media, TikTok, even Anime, instead of being comforted by the reality around us. But it makes sense because for a lot of us the reality around us, really isn’t that comforting. Crime, tragedy, generational trauma and capitalism, has really consumed the way we live life. Often, simple pleasure and basic needs are turned into something to profit off of.” -Xavier.
If you guys are living in a world of fantasy, you’re still living in the dark. If you guys are not recognizing how much the system that’s in place that’s feeding you guys what you think you need, instead of actually recognizing what you really do need, then you’re still living in the dark, completely oblivious of a system designed to keep you all trapped in a certain mindset of thinking you need these material things to live a life of happiness.
Inflation goes up, poverty goes up, crime goes up, consciousness, and consideration for others goes down. It’s a dog eat dog world. We spend so much time trying to make a living, that we forget what living really is. We spend so much time trying to get out the hood, that we forget what giving back to the hood really means.
I’m afraid and worried that adults think that change needs to be made by electing a new official, and re-calling and kicking out the old one. I’m afraid the only change people wait on, is the change in political seats from Democrat to Republican or from Republican to Democrat. ‘Cause no one would like to admit that maybe the person we should be re-calling is our own ourselves. Maybe we need to take a further look beyond the depths of our soul and figure out what we really stand for?
Part of being in the dark and being afraid of the dark, is partly because you’re too scared to step out into the light and see what’s really going on. I don’t want to keep hearing that “I help my people.”
But you keep breaking the law and poison your community with drugs, then discriminate against your own people. It’s time that we start putting more VALUE in doing things for others. It’s time we start talking about equal pay for those who actually serve our communities, not just equal pay for both women and men. There has to be a common ground where all people of color, no matter what race, religion, beliefs, can team up and do something positive for our communities on a more consistent basis. That’s where you young people come in.
Now, there are so many ways to click up with like-minded people on social media, online, etc. It’s time to realize that there is power and strength in numbers if we all decide to work and strive for the same goals, which is help each other succeed, instead of trying to bring each other down.
See, I’m worried because I care. I’m scared because I feel like not too many others care enough. There are too many distractions, built to divide us all and make us choose different teams. The system doesn’t want to see all people from different backgrounds, cultures, upbringings, band together, because they would lose power and money. But as long as we keep staying in the dark, alone, away, from everybody, they will keep winning. It’s time to come out into the light and see what’s really going on.
It will take courage, hard-work, discipline, and sacrifice. Only, we can make a difference in our lives, and the lives of others that haven’t been dealt a fair hand. Only we can change the realities of our situations and upbringings. We just have to have the courage to step out of the dark. I believe in y’all. You just have to be willing to believe in yourselves.
One love to everybody going through the struggle. OT is signing out with the utmost love and respect. And The Beat Keeps going and going…
Thank you, OT, for all your great work as an editor, typist, and facilitator. You are much more than that dear friend. We are grateful for all you give. You inspire! Speaking of inspiration, there is plenty of great writing in this latest issue, as you writers and artists truly step up, as you tackle our weekly topics, or writing on your own prompts. A big thanks for making writing (and reading) a habit! Please know, wherever you go in this world, you can bring The Beat Within with you. Stay in touch, reach out to us anytime. Take the initiative and write or call us! There is a place for you in our pages to continue to tell your story and we want to hear from you all. Sending you all our best! Until the next workshop or magazine!