-DLR, Sacramento I identify myself as a good man and a God-fearing man. I hope it isn’t different than how my friends and family see me, but I think they see me the same. If they see me differently it’s because they see the old me. I would like to change how people see me if they still see the old me because I am changing every day. A decision that was incredibly challenging for me was to take a plea deal for my case. I had the option to go through trial or take three years, even though I’d
Continue ReadingThe Hardest Decision Ever
-Heart Broken, Stanislaus To be honest, I feel like the hardest decision I’ve ever made was probably to stop giving my love to my first love. Reason is because at first sight, I was so in love with her I almost felt like we was meant to be. Every day I felt like I needed to talk to her to see her or something that gave me some type of contact with her. She was selling the dream so good I almost felt like it was real until she kept on cheating, and even then I thought it was somewhat
Continue ReadingGetting Through the Day
-Fred, San Francisco Hard work to me means getting through the day without doing anything that might get me in trouble. Hard work to me also means taking care of siblings when my parents are out because it’s always something going on between them. I’ll have to decide what I should do to keep them from hurting each other or messing up around the house. I know that my mom has a hard time waking all of my siblings up for school because my siblings go to different schools and she has to take the little ones to school somewhere
Continue ReadingThe Company You Keep
-Al Cunningham I don’t have to tell you this. You already know that the company you keep, the kind of people you hang out with plays a major role in determining your future. We know that generally, there are exceptions to every rule, but those are few and far between. It is true that if you lie down with the dogs you will wake up with fleas. If you keep the company of people who thirst for knowledge, eventually that will rub off on you and you will be better for it. Hang out with people of good character and
Continue ReadingLame to the Game
-Calvin Edwards, Jefferson Correctional Center in St. Louis, MO Are you hip enough to pimp a hooker from your tablet? Do you have enough game to turn a staff member into a mule? How about being savvy enough to introduce dope into the institution despite all the administration’s efforts to stop you? Maybe you have enough game to do all of that. You may think you have enough game to get away with murder in here despite all these cameras. But ask yourself this, are you hip enough to run your own legitimate business? Do you have enough game to
Continue Reading
Volume 29.19/20
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingEd Note 29.19/20
Greetings to our Beat Within community near and far! We’re proud to present this latest publication to you, and to feature the groundbreaking writing and artwork of our incarcerated community across the nation. We cherish each and every piece that we publish, and celebrate the resilience and dedication of our writers and readers. This issue’s editorial note is brought to you by two of our interns from Urban High School of San Francisco, Lelia and Sophie. We appreciate the detail that Lelia goes into about the lessons she’s learned from interning with us, and the deep resonance that Sophie feels
Continue ReadingThe Only Person Holding You Back
-PJ, Marin I do believe I am my worst enemy. I believe this because I feel the only person holding you back is yourself. There are times where people blame others for when things are going wrong in their life. But I’ve always believed that you are in full control of what happens and you can separate yourself from people you don’t agree with. You can drop bad habits by yourself alone, even if it may be hard. You have no one — and I mean no one — to blame. You decide what you doing what you don’t, which
Continue ReadingI Express My Creativity in Many Ways
-Sanguine, Santa Cruz I like to express my creativity in a lot of different ways. I like to draw, write, take pictures and play instruments, especially the electric guitar. Sometimes I cook. I mix a couple of different desserts together to make a new one or sometimes I make crazy sandwiches, instant ramen and add a couple of extra ingredients or just go simple and cook a steak. I especially like grilling. When my family has carne asada(grilled meat), it’s usually me or my pops who’s grilling and my mom mixing the salsa, guac, beans and rice. I’m not such
Continue ReadingThe One Thing I Fear the Most Right Now
-Johnny Rodriguez, CHCF in Stockton, CA The one thing I fear the most right now is not living a meaningful life where I wouldn’t care about what would happen to me, my family, friends, short and long term goals and or with people in general. Especially my future possibilities with someone special that my present could offset preventing me from ever experiencing diverse potential. Life has taught me to understand and to grow in a continuum and be realistic, especially in the face of adversity to persevere and strive for general purposeful well-being to never lose sight. This has taught
Continue Reading