Category: Will S

I think there’s no one set definition for who the “incarcerated youth” are. Everyone who ends up in those correctional facilities ahas a different story to tell and a world of different experiences. This is part of the reason why I thought the video by The Atlantic rung true when it mentioned building multiple correctional centers throughout the state instead of just having Bon Air. I think this idea goes along with the idea that the people being incarcerated at a young age are all so varied. What works for one person might not work for another, so having multiple different facilities to accommodate people who live in different places or have different backgrounds is a smart move in my opinion. Additionally, since Bel Air wasn’t built for correctional programing, I think a complete renovation of the facility like what was mentioned in the documentary, is a really good idea. By living in a place that’s obviously focused on correction, I’d imagine the youth living there would be more inclined to really work to improve, as opposed to the current Bel Air layout which makes correction feel like an afterthought. I assume there are a bunch of logistical issues that are hampering the progress of these changes, but I think that the effort required to make said changes happen will be well worth it in the long run.

I think the discussion we had with Terrance, Kelvin, and Dr. Coogan as a class was really insightful and engaging. I think one of the most impactful things I learned from the discussion was the outward focus that everyone involved with the project seemed to have. they seemed determined to help educate us, and anyone else who read their book, about their lives and their stories. Kelvin seemed the most adamant about this, saying that his main goal for joining the project was to help others from his background avoid going down the path he had gone down before.

I was surprised by the very serious nature our guests, especially Terrance, talked to us with. Personally, that showed me that he was committed to the project and wanted to take every opportunity he could to impart the knowledge he’s gained from his experiences and show us how important the project was to him.

1. (For David Coogan) “When you started this project, did you have some sort of ideal end goal, and if so did you reach that goal?
2. (For the other writers) “Why did you decide to join this project at its inception?”
3. (For the other writers) “Did you ever feel like you wanted to leave the project?” (For Dr Coogan) “What did you do to try and ensure the writers stayed with the project?”

The second half of “Writing Our Way Out” was just as emotional of a reading experience as the first, with the conclusion of the men’s journeys and their alter views on life post-incarceration lending a sense of hope and optimism to the end of the book. Because of this, or maybe in spite of it, the story that struck me the most was Andre’s.

Andre’s story starts with his father getting him addicted to heroin when he was just twelve years old. To feed his addiction, he becomes a dealer, while also getting his friends and the people close to him addicted, just as his father did to him. He loses one of his best friends to a shooting, before getting shot himself by angry users looking for Andre’s friend, a fellow dealer. When Andre’s eighteen, he gets arrested for dealing drugs. In prison, he goes through intense withdraws, but comes out on the other side with a more positive outlook on life. During his imprisonment, he gets his GED and becomes certified as a graphic designer and as a data entry clerk.

Once released from prison, Andre’s strained relationship with his father leads him to relapse on heroin, subsequently ruining most of his personal relationships. However, he sees that a change needs to be made within himself, and he signs up for a rehabilitation program. The program helps him stay clean while he is living in the program’s house, but he is kicked out of the house following another relapse. This failure motivates him to quit again, and he becomes a salesman, though he does still sell drugs on the side, albeit without using them himself. Unfortunately, Andre is sent back to prison for the last time with numerous charges, all coming from his involvement with an armed robbery. The catch is, Andre was never a part of the robbery, he was just getting a ride with some of his friends after they had already committed the crime, and he had no idea it had occurred. His arrest was accompanied by heavy police brutality, sexual assault, and an all around failure of the justice system.

Andre wins his trials (three of them) and is released for the final time. The story ends on a sad note though, as Andre is seen robbing a convenance store, leading to a police chase. A police chase that ends with a fatal car crash taking Andre’s life. This is the event Dr. Coogan is talking with Kelvin about in the book’s opening chapter.

The most impactful thing about Andre’s story is the fact that it didn’t come to a happy conclusion. All the other guys’ stories are full of hope for the future and determination to change their lives and the lives of others. Andre never has a chance at that. His story ends too soon, but it’s clear from his writing leading up to the fatal accident that he was making a real effort to change, an effort which makes his tragic death all the more painful.

I think that “Writing Our Way Out” is a really powerful book that has a bunch of emotional weight. The stories that the book contains are beautiful because they toe the line between being really tragic and somewhat up-lifting. The stories are sometimes really hard to read, with harsh subject matter and descriptions of traumatic events, but when you consider the people behind the writing, you can see how each person if really working to improve themselves.

One of the things that struck me the most about the narratives in the book was how young all the writers were when they first started going down a bad path. In the stories, kids as young as eleven or twelve years old were committing crimes and risking their lives on a daily basis. I think this is a perfect example of why it’s so important to experience stories like these. Not just because the process of writing and reflecting is therapeutic for the authors, which is of course a fantastic benefit, but because the publication of these stories helps educate the people that read them about some of the fundamental problems in our society.

After reading the two articles about the connections between storytelling and memory, I believe that memory has a huge impact on our identities and the people that we are. Which means that storytelling does too. By telling stories about our past and forcing ourselves to recollect important moments of our lives, we learn more about ourselves. It makes sense to me that by then telling other people about our memories in the form of a story will only solidify the lessons we’ve learned for our memories.

This could even go beyond personal examination as, like the Los Angeles Times article suggests, listening and telling stories can teach us about the people around us and the culture we inhabit. By thinking about which memories and stories stand out to us, we can evaluate what events, ideas, people, and places are the most important to us, or whoever else is telling a story.

In reading these two articles, I was forced to think about how essential memory is to the person I am. My memories of time with my family and friends can tell me about why I enjoy certain activities or pastimes. Memories of bad experiences can tell me about why I don’t like specific things or ideas. My memories are much more important to the person I am than I thought they were, and by telling other people about them in the form of a story, I, in tandem with the listener, can begin to understand more about the person I am.

When I was younger, I spent my summers at a nature camp, hiking in the woods, playing in streams, and having fun outside. I had a great time, but the point of the camp was to educate, not just entertain, so there were times when my fellow campers and I had some sort of task to accomplish or mission to complete.

One such mission was given to me when I was about ten years old. Some of my friends and I were playing in the woods per usual, when our counselor called us over and told us that he wanted us to make a fire. That usually wouldn’t have been too hard of a task, as we all had been doing similar things at that camp for years. However, the night before, it had rained pretty heavily, so most the sticks we collected were wet.

It took us about twenty minutes, but eventually we found enough material to start the fire. There was some debate about the type of fire structure we should build, but in the end we figured out what would work best with the materials we had and got the fire going.