by ARJ, San Mateo A mistake that I made was chasing money over freedom. I used to think anything is worth the risk for money. Now I realize that all the money in the world can’t buy you freedom. You need to make right decisions so that nobody can ever take your freedom from you. Money is a great thing to have and it can make you happy, but having to stress if you’re going to get caught or even get killed makes it not worth it for me anymore. Some people might say I’m just not with the “street
Continue ReadingThey Knew What They Were Talking About
by KS, Sacramento I should’ve listened to my mom and dad for all the game they gave me when I was younger. I should’ve soaked up the advice they gave me, so I didn’t have to end up here. They been to juvenile hall plenty of times as kids, in and out the system all the time. If I wasn’t stubborn, always thinking I know everything, I wouldn’t be where I am today. If I took the advice I needed from them as a kid… they gave me really good advice, to never lead me in the wrong way or
Continue ReadingThat Mistake
by Harry Goodall, Jr., San Quentin State Prison, CA There have been many things I have done wrong in my life and there are some things that I done due to peer pressure. However there are other things I did in life just out of being hurt and wanting to hurt other people. So let’s take a trip down a road of a vicious cycle I created by a mistake I made. For a few reasons I dropped out of school. It wasn’t that I had bad grades or didn’t enjoy any of the studying. It was just that I
Continue ReadingA Selfless Act of Kindness
by Jennifer Bissell, Central California Women’s Facility, Chowchilla, CA I believe a good deed can be anything big or small just as long as it’s a selfless act of kindness or like a pay it forward notion to another person, especially a stranger. I remember a time when I was pregnant and actually in labor and there was a car accident on the way to the hospital, and rather than drive on by and just call 911 to help the people that looked like they really needed the help, I asked my husband to stop so we could personally help
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Volume 28.07/08
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingEd Note 28.07/08
Greetings Here we are, late February 2023. It is very hard to believe how fast time is already flying by… Where does the time go? One minute we’re preparing for the holidays, completing our year-end issue, and winter break, and the next minute we are embracing the early days of 2023, and now the month of February, with March around the corner. Wow! Hard to believe this amazing double issue, 28.07/08, is completed and ready for your eyes. Usually, you get to hear from our friend, OT, in this editorial note, who is always amazing with his stories and updates,
Continue ReadingTurning It Into Something
by ARJ, San Mateo The thing I am most proud of isn’t anything I did on the outs. The thing I’m most proud of is being able to take this hard time in my life and turning it into something rather than just being mad that I got caught. I know it might sound dumb, but I am happy that I got caught because I was on a path that would have ended with me either dead or locked up for way longer than I am going to be right now. When I first came down I was very angry
Continue ReadingI’m Very Proud
by Gabriel, Sonoma I’m proud of not only myself but my girlfriend. I am proud of both of us because we met about six months ago and at that time, I was not my best self. I was going through a rough time where I was homeless and not in my best mental mindset. What I mean by that is I was always a mad person – maybe mostly not mad but sad because I never had a family. I never was never told or showed by someone that they loved me. Instead of being able to express my feeling
Continue ReadingHeartbreak
by Elijah, San Francisco I got my heart broken a few times. I broke my own heart by being in here. As a kid, I never thought I would be here. It is hard for me to be in here. This is one of the places that I thought I would never come to but I made the wrong choice, being with the wrong people. I am a leader but I was following somebody and that is what got me in here. It was peer pressure and he got in my head about it. I spoke to my mom about
Continue ReadingBad Habits
by Jaimi Roberts, Central California Women’s Facility I’d like to think I have the bad habit of all bad habits!!! Lack of thought control…and misplacing them with my feelings. Without a healthy strong belief system this is where everything gets hairy! Yikes! This bad habit of entertaining random or ruminating thoughts has been my ultimate set up: I’ve lost family over it, engaged in both criminal, homicidal and addictive activities. I had never given myself the chance to live presently, being all consumed with a cumulation of unresolved past baggage, a lot of it was not even my own, but
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