Category: Piece of the Week

by David, Alameda “Put me in a cave with wolves, and I’ll come out leading the pack.”  My father has a strong personality. He’s taught me many life lessons. One being to become a leader and not a follower. I’ve been a team captain for my team ever since I was ten.  “Put me in cave with wolves” means when someone leaves you stranded, you deal with it and get used to the new environment. You also play your part and try to make your environment better. “I’ll come out leading the pack.”  Kind of simple. If you do me

by AV, Sacramento You never looked me in my eyesYou never cared that I criedYou told me you loved meBut go ahead tell me…you lied‘Cause the moment is hereThe moment is nowWhere I’m giving up‘Cause you let me downThey say when you dieYou’re in the skyBut we’re buriedIn the groundSometimes I wishThat I could find outGive up on lifeAnd not be aroundI know when you’re wrongAnd I know when you’re rightBut still…I never left your sideMy life has no reasonYou broke my heartInto piecesMy soulIt has purpose!This lifeIt’s not worth itI want to scream and cryBut instead…I say I’m fineI

by June, Santa Clara Teach the youth to all my youngstasThere’s more to see than just the blockThere’s more to life then toting glocksBetter play it smartdon’t wanna live yo’ life inside that boxThere’s other ways to get yo moneyYou ain’t gotta serve no one but youYou only get one chance at lifeYou don’t get to do it twiceThe streets ain’t the samethey got infested with these miceBetter stay up out my waybecause the streets ain’t playing niceYou ah prolly lose yo’ rightsOr mess around n’ lose yo’ lifeMight dig yourself a hole so deepthat you could never see the

by Teacher, Santa Cruz An important thing for young people to know in order to be successful is to be yourself and to not try to be someone you are not. Most of the time people will try to be like someone they are not to either impress people or just to try and fit in.  I like to be myself because it is good that people know who I really am. It is also important to be honest when you think you need help, either counseling, anger management classes or more help in school. It’s important to be honest

by Jovaughny, San Mateo If I was to describe my life as a ride it would be a merry go round because I’m in and out of places like going from jail to house to house. It’s been going on all my life.  The thing that bothers me is when my mom died I just lost control of myself. I’ve been stealing and robbing people like I have nothing to lose but I do. Now I’m in jail and I don’t want to be in here but I have to face the consequences. I will be out of here soon

by DG, James Ranch, Santa Clara It’s my lifestyle and my decisions. We had a talk about a year ago. The last time I was at the ranch I called my sister and I was talking to her about all my plans that I had.  When I was out I was telling her how good I wanted to do and how I was going to make a change and all this but the moment I got out I stayed out all night, did some stupid and didn’t tell her about it until later on. I had my mind focused on

by Andrew, San Francisco The thing I most hate to hear is that I act like or resemble my father. I also hate to hear that I am a bad influence or a bad person. The reason I don’t like to be compared to my father is because he was just a bad person in general and also never in my life. I did not ever think that it affected me until I got older and realized that I probably never would have been incarcerated if I had a father figure in my life.  I was getting incarcerated because I

by R, Missoula, Montana I feel helplessMy wrong doings…And I can’t do anything?Lost hope in a lost placeI forget thingsWhat did she look like again?What does being outside feel like?Will I ever be free again?“You can’t do that”“Not allowed”“Stop”“You can’t visit”Fourteen years oldNot allowed to see my parentsNot a single slice of freedomLocked upMy thoughts will wanderBut where will they take me next?Stress valley, crybaby city, hopeless homesIf you’re lucky, one day you’ll wake upFrom this dream…O n e d a y.

by None Of Your Business, Santa Clara I Got sent to South Illinois to live with my pops when I was sixteen. I had a way different mind set then, from now. They told me, “If you want to get out of jail go outta state.”  To me that was a great offer. The only downside was that I had a lot of hatred towards my pops. When he was living out here he was less than 15 miles and he couldn’t see the kid or never did he check up on me.  I felt played that I had to

by PR, Sonoma My dad has never came through or kept to his promises. I guess me and my sisters weren’t his first priority and he never tried to be there for us.  To me, it made me feel alone, neglected, and not worth being with. To be honest, I wish I had an answer because I never knew what was going on in my dad’s mind. I always thought it was because I wasn’t good enough or didn’t turn out as my dad wanted me to look like but to this day, I still don’t know. You know I