Everything I Been Through

STORIES FROM 826NYC STUDENTS AT PA S S A G E S A C A D E M Y

826NYC BOOKS BROOKLYN, NY

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This was the first time 826NYC paired with Passages Academy—Belmont to work with students on their creative writing. For the month of November 2019, students read Trevor Noah’s memoir Born A Crime and worked on their own memoir writing.

Everything I Been Through is the culmination of this work.

A huge thank you to Ms. Ernyey, Mr. Senft, Ms. Nadel, and Ms. Amitrano for inviting 826NYC into your classrooms and supporting the teaching artists and the students in their work together, and an equally huge thank you to Ms. Bespalova for helping the students create the artwork in this book. Thank you to the support staff in both classrooms as well.

We are also grateful to principals Mr. Shareef Rashid and Ms. Yvette Baxter-Sweet, as well as assistant principal Mr. Ronald Carter, for their support of this project.

Thank you to the entirety of the staff at Passages Academy: Ms. Bernard, Ms. Ikawa, Mr. Godley, Ms. Thomas, Mr. Villaronga, Ms. Chau and Ms. Latham, and a major thank you to librarian Ms. Fenster-Sparber for organizing the many moving parts and being instrumental in making this book a reality.

We appreciate Ms. Brown, the former administrator who inspired the collaboration between 826NYC and Passages Academy Belmont. We also have enormous gratitude for Literacy for Incarcerated Teens (LIT) for their encouragement for funding the partnership. At 826NYC we depend on the dedicated volunteer editing and design cohort that make our publications a reality. Thank you to Jess Frampton for designing such a beautiful book for our students, and to copy editors NaBeela Washington and Christine Corbin for their careful attention to each of the student’s pieces.

Many thanks to our amazing Teaching Artists, Emily Pollock and Vanessa Friedman, for their enthusiasm and dedication to the young writers at Passages Academy. Your creation of a creative and safe space shows in the pieces in this collection. Thank you also to the 826NYC staff for their work behind the scenes in making this program happen.

Finally, thank you to the students at Passages Academy—Belmont for taking risks with your writing and sharing your words with us. Writing can be a challenging, emotional, and hopefully fun process, and your dedication to your craft and your stories shines through in these pieces. You are the experts of your own stories.

Thank you.

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826NYC Books 372 Fifth Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11215 Everything I Been Through © 2020 by 826NYC and the authors.

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

First 826NYC edition 2020 Manufactured in the United States of Brooklyn 978-1-948644-41-9 The writing in this book was produced in the fall of 2019 by students at Passages Academy—Belmont in Brooklyn, NY. The classes were run by Vanessa Friedman and Emily Pollock with the support of Jessica Ernyey and Erica Nadel, as well as the entire faculty at Passages Academy—Belmont.

Designed by Jess Frampton Edited by NaBeela Washington and Christine Corbin Printed by Bookmobile This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, The Jane Friedman Anspach Family Foundation, The Hawkins Project, The Minerva Foundation, The Resnick Family Foundation, The Rona Jaffe Foundation, and The Susan Stein Shiva Foundation. The following individuals have provided donations to support our programs: Aziz Ansari, Ray and Ami Carpenter, Sarah Connolly, Amir Mokari, Tammy Oler and Ehren Gresehover, David and Lori Schnadig, Jason Sinay, Alyson Stone, Maura Tierney, Marianna Vaidman Stone and Eric Stone, and Ted Wolff and Anne Clarke-Wolff. Additional support comes from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.

826NYC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages six to eighteen with their creative and expository writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. Our services are structured around our belief that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.

This book is the culmination of a creative writing project with the young writers at Passages Academy, a school that serves students involved with the criminal justice system. We encourage our students to write pieces that are meaningful to them, and the stories in this publication do just that. This book is intended for mature audiences, with topics, themes, and language that may not be suitable for younger readers.

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Visiting Sing Sing Ezekiel

3 Crackhead on My Block Jonathan

6 My Past Self Logan

7 Light in the Darkness Kymani

9 The Time I Got Locked Up Efaree

12 The Party Andrew

13 Free Wheels Zaid

14 Jacob’s Party Jerry Lewis

17 Where I Am From Marcus

18 Dreams & Nightmares Anonymous

20 Here

Joshua

22 The Soccer Game Stanley

23 Heart of Stone Anonymous

24 Demons & Hell Rasheen

26 Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Domonique

27 I’m From Indika

28 I Grew Up Shaquille

30 Basketball Jared

32 A Red-Nose Pitbull Jonathan

33 Dubai Taylor

34 Wrong Side of the Road Judah

36 The Most Interesting Story Melahki

38 When I Got Shot Kylik

39 From Corona, Queens Andres

41 A Good Day Christian

43 Then

Quashawn

44 Octopus Maximus

45 Car

Jamaud

46 Pain in the System Maurice

V I SITING

SING SING Ezequiel

The program brought us to Sing Sing because they felt like we needed inmates to tell us about themselves and the people from the program wanted us to learn something from that.

When we arrived they took our cell phones and when we went in I walked through a scanner to my left. They also made me take off my shoes and bang them together.

Then they opened this gate and made everybody sit in the next room and wait for like 5 minutes. Then we went to another big ass room where the guards spoke to us for a little bit. The guards was telling us about the prisoners and how the jail was run. The guards showed us all over. First they brung us to the block where the inmates be at. Then they brung me to the basketball court where they played ball.

Honestly, it looked kind of scary ‘cause the guards on the tower had big ass guns. I didn’t feel no type of way, honestly, I felt regular.

After that they showed how the box looked and they explained how we would never wanna be in the box. The box was OD small with a bed, a sink, and a small toilet. I would never wanna be there because they treat you very bad depending on who you are and you could end up dying in jail.

Then they showed us the cafe and after that we went to the auditorium where they had like 10 inmates talk to us about why they was there and 7 out of 10 was there for 2nd degree murder.

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Their stories were kind of similar ‘cause they did the same stuff but worse. I think what they said was very helpful. All the information they gave us was helpful and I learned a lot from that visit. They was explaining how they was acting off of impulse and yeah, it made a big impact on me cause I probly would have did something stupid and probly would have ended up where my brother is.

When I visited him, I thought back about that trip. The first time I saw my brother locked up, it hurt me, cause I knew after that day I wouldn’t see him for a minute. I couldn’t ever visit because it was really far.

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C R ACKHEAD ON MY BL OCK Jonathan

This person likes to smoke crack. This person’s family lost them because, trying to get them to stop won’t work—and also it makes me feel sad because the fact that their parents and family have to go through this. Seeing people on the streets begging for money to smoke makes me sad because smoking crack makes them homeless.

People die off heroin and crack each year. People who sell crack should stop because they are killing others just to make some money. People don’t care about others as long as they are making money. When you go from smoking weed to crack, your life can change in just 3-5 minutes. This is why you should stay in school and stay out the streets.

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MY

PAST

SEL F Logan

My past self was emotional, young, dumb, and spoiled. He dressed swaggy, had a lot of hair. He thought easy and fast money was the best way out. I loved to let my best friend, AKA my exgirlfriend, braid my hair. But my big problem was I had very bad anger issues. It messed up a lot of my close friendships which made me more upset. I acted like I didn’t care for a while, still went to school, and walked right by her, but deep down I was a little hurt. The past me was very grateful for what I had and loved, but I let my anger and emotions get to me.

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LIG HT IN T HE DARKN ESS Kymani

Hi, my name is Kymani. Today I will be telling you the story that changed my life. One day I had missed a court date. There was a warrant issued for my arrest and when I found out, I knew that I would probably have to do time. So from that point forward, I decided to share all my time with the one person I loved so much.

She was like my only light in all my darkness. This girl, till this day, is still like no other. She had cared for me so much; I felt that if I left her, she would leave me and that’s one thing I couldn’t see happening.

So I had told this girl my situation and told her that I might go away for some time and she told me that it was ok, that everyone goes through situations and that she would be there for me when I got back.

So I ended up seeing her one last time, in a Dunkin’ Donuts around the corner from my house. Before her bus came, she gave me one kiss that—I don’t know—that made me feel like I couldn’t go away cause I would miss her so much. So I decided that I wouldn’t ever turn myself in.

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I was on the run for two weeks without going home and having some tough times trying to get some sleep just ‘cause I wanted to see her one more time.

Eventually I called her and told her to meet me somewhere.

Thirty minutes before I could meet her, I did something very dumb which got me arrested and led to me not being able to see her again. It changed my life because I feel like my job isn’t completed.

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THE

T IME

I G OT L OCKED UP Efaree

It was a loud, noisy, summer night in a neighborhood where most people know each other and most people get along. This is called the Flatbush. However, the cops seem to hate me a lot because of my reputation. They knew me as a menace to society.

I got locked up so many times they hated me. I feel like they hated me because of the way they treated me—some days, when they arrested me, I wouldn’t even get a phone call until the next day.

My favorite part of my neighborhood is the Spanish food, mostly because it’s so good, secondly it’s very close. Most empanadas are good, but I love cheese out of all empanadas. It had a buttery taste that I enjoy.

One night when I was walking with my friends Anthony, Jose, and Tito, the cops jumped out on me. The first thing that ran through my head was damn, we had plans. I had the airbnb reservation booked and everything and I happened to get arrested. However, the cops asked me my name. After I told them my name, they said I have a warrant. Instantly they put me in the car.

While I’m in the car I’m saying damn, what did I do?, This can’t be real, and I’m not going home all at once. As I sat in the back of the car I mainly felt worried; I thought about my mom the whole time. I knew she was going to be upset.

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I never understood why the cops treated me like this, but I kinda knew this was going to happen. It never gave. Everytime something happens there is a positive impact or negative. This means I could go home and learn my lesson or I could go away and do the time and then learn my lesson. But this was the time I got locked up.

I feel like this story changed my life a little. I learned the seriousness of life and the importantness.

The End

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T HE

PART Y Andrew

Me and my friends was thinking about doing something the next day and I got on my phone and looked for parties. I found one and told my friends about it and the next morning, I texted my friend Angel, and he said to meet him at the end of his block.

So I got dressed and walked 5 blocks and waited on the end of his block. He came out of his house and then we linked up with our other mans, Biggs. We went to a parked car we had a couple of blocks away, and hung out.

Then we went to the party later that night. So while me and Angel is talking about who is going to get the most girls in the party, our other mans, Biggs looked for the directions to the party.

We finally got there and there was so much girls and music that we lost track of time. The music was blasting and we saw girls dancing and me and my friend went over and danced behind them while they was dancing. We had so much fun that night.

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FREE

WHEELS Zaid

We were walking down the street, me and my friend Steve. I saw a car that seemed like it was turned on, with no one in it. It was a white 2017 Nissan. My other friend, Tom, was saying that no one was around.

I looked around multiple times, didn’t see no one around, so me and Steve hopped in and drove down the block. I felt scared, but I knew the basics of driving.

Then I saw my friend, Chris, riding his bike down the block. I called to him, and he hopped off the bike and took over driving.

We kept the car for a long time and later got arrested for it.

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JACOB’S

BIRTHDAY

Jerry Lewis

Me and my brothers, Carl and Sam, were planning a party for our other brother, Jacob. We do almost everything with each other. Even when we had nothing, we had nothing together. He was turning 16 and we knew that we had to make it special for him. So we spent about two months and a half planning. We all put about 320 dollars together for gifts and other recreational items.

My brother doesn’t like a large crowd, so we knew we shouldn’t make it too big, but we have to make it fun. Me and Carl were trying to make it a secret, but Sam run his damn mouth too much, which kinda messed up the whole secret part.

I decided to get some drinks and some food. I got something simple, so pizza seemed like a reasonable option. Sam and Carl were responsible for invites and other recreational items. We didn’t invite a lot of people, like 4-5 guys and 4 girls, because at the time I had a girl, Sam had one, and Jacob had one so the girls were more for Carl and the other guys.

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My girl, Jennifer, came. We danced and partied the night away.

Five hours later, Bill’s mom tells us to be mindful of the noise level, we got tired.

We wished Jacob a happy birthday and gave him his gifts. My friends and I fell asleep on the couch. The next day I woke up and bought a bacon, egg, and cheese.

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WHERE I AM FR OM Marcus

Where I am from is Brooklyn / New York City where the city never sleeps.

I’m from Glenwood projects where the Locc’s be at.

I’m from a tuff and bad influence place.

I’m from Glenwood projects where the Locc’s be at. We do a lot of things we’re not supposed to do. We don’t follow the rules and get locked up a lot; we still don’t do what we have to do. I rob houses and steal. I smoke weed and fight every other day. Don’t listen to my mother. I spend more time with my friends than her.

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D R EAMS &

N IG HTMARES

Anonymous

It was a Sunday morning in Houston.

The little boy was crying under the tree as the rain fell down his face.

The sun started to shine as the older man approached him.

He asked, “What happened?”

He found out that the young boy had a bad relationship with his mom. The old man was so sophisticated. He looked at his arm and knew he got his ass whooped before. Boy started shrugging his shoulders. Old man said, “Don’t be in denial, I’m here to help you.” The boy said, “Nobody is here to help me. Every day in my life, I’ve been looked at skeptically.”

Old man said, “Let’s take a walk.”

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Boy said, “Really? Okay,” with a hesitant voice. Old man asked him, “Do you believe in dreams?”

Boy said, “Yes.” Old man said, “Do you have a dream?”

Boy said, “Yes I want to become a therapist.” “Okay,” said the old man with a happy voice. “All these emotions are just a nightmare. You just got to believe in your dreams and eventually they will come true and great things will happen.” Boy later became a spokesman and a therapist to support others.

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HERE Joshua

My name is Joshua. I was born in Wyckoff hospital on July 18, 2001. I grew up in Albany Houses in Crown Heights where I met the streets and started getting attached to the behavior. I started following bad influences and got caught up and I ended up in here. Before that I’ve been locked up and in trouble with the law many times. Being sent here is a blessing because the program has welcomed me with open arms, treated me like a family, and taught me to value my family and freedom.

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T HE SOCC ER GAME Stanley

On November 10, 2012, two teams gathered up together to play against each other but they didn’t really like each other because both schools had problems. Team W was from Harlem and all the kids were in high school; 11 members on each team. They wore all black with a number on the t-shirt. Team B was from the Bronx and were also in high school, but they were always angry; their uniforms were white.

The soccer game was located in Brooklyn at Prospect Park on a very hot day, about 300 people were there. Two rounds were set up for the game and each round was 45 minutes. The day of the game, everybody that was supposed to play was on the field getting ready for the first half. The score was 2 to 1; Team W was winning. When they came back for the second round, one of the members from Team B got injured while trying to kick the ball.

Team B got mad and swung at one of the players from Team W. A big fight broke out.

The end.

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HEART OF STONE Anonymous

I have a heart of stone because of everything I been through.

Getting locked up at a young age made my view of the future not so bright. Being told I’m gonna stay in the system from people, made me show no sympathy or care towards others.

My first time being “placed” or what they call “sentenced” in family court, I was furious and blank because I felt like I let my family down. Hearing 18 months made me think about my life; I was like 14 years old. I didn’t know anything about the system so I had to adapt. My second time hearing 18 months just crushed my soul. All I saw was people in the courtroom and felt myself heating up. I was in secure as well and at that time I had just turned 16.

I was in Crossroads for four months and was going back and forth to court. I had two cases: Family and Supreme Court. Got placed for 18 months for both cases and came to Rising Ground NSP.

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DEMONS & HEL L Rasheen

I was born in 2005 on October 4 in Brokdale hospital. At about 3 or 4, I learned how to walk and talk. At about 11 I moved to Tarett House from Brokline. I started to follow bad influences and get in trouble. I got in trouble a couple of times. It started with little crimes like tossing rocks at cars and breaking peoples’ windows.

At about 12, I started to get arrested. It was mostly little crimes and each time I went home, my mother just had to pick me up from the precinct. Until I came here I always thought that doing wrong is right and that not going to school is okay. In program, I learned to fix my problems and get to school and learn something that would help me process in life. I think that coming to this program helped me improve my actions. Money is a rule to demons and hell.

The end.

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SUPER CAL IFR AGILISTICEXP IAL IDOCIOUS Domonique

I was born in November and I was announced heavy and healthy. I have ADHD. I am annoying. I am funny. I am smart. My name is Domonique and I hate this generation. I am not allergic to anything and I like to cut ass. I like to listen to Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, and last but not least Jay-Z. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is my favorite word. I like to have fun and hang out with my friends. I don’t like school and my teacher is facetious; William Shakespeare is my favorite author and The Taming of the Shrew is my favorite book.

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I’M FR OM Indika

My name is Indika.

I’m from Brooklyn, New York. Bed-Stuy to be exact. I was raised in a brownstone, a private apartment with four floors. Every day, Monday through Sunday is a different meal.

I’m from Bed-Stuy.

I’m from brownstones.

I’m from a specific meal every day.

I’m from hanging out in Chauncey projects.

I’m from basketball tournaments in 262 Park.

I’m from going shopping with my mom.

I’m from play fighting with my family and friends.

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I G REW UP Shaquille I grew up in a dangerous hood, a dangerous life that I had to live.

Wasn’t looking for friendship, but I found a few kids I can now call my brothers. JH and RG, and N. We went from playing basketball and shooting hoops to gang banging and shooting guns. I shoot for them, they shoot for me. We got excited at the age of 11, hearing the 40’s going off, and them 9’s and 45ths ringing. Now we 16, and we let 40’s off and 45ths ring. We Take Charge. All gas.

We focused on money now. But I still got to maneuver through Pz when I travel. Gang banging is hard, but fun, and I damn sure we tactical. I was taught always make sure the guys and I eat. But overall take care of me. Stay paid and full, stay humble, but keep help on the waist fully loaded at all time.

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I’m from East New York.

East New York where you either shoot guns or play sports.

And half the city Jacc that they don’t eat pork.

Youngings shooting and robbing and kicking down doors.

Linden projects aka Linden Pz. Where me and the homeboys shout out the crib’s window.

Mothers of young black men are usually widows.

Linden houses aka Linden Pz. Where we was taught to catch opposition by jumping out trees.

Brown paper bags, lighters and greens.

At the age of 11 we was first taught how to squeeze.

Triggers not an orange or lemon.

We went from the #1 football players to the number 1 felons.

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BASKETBALL Jared

I remember when I got offensive player of the year as a freshman in high school. I had a great basketball year. One game I had 37 points, 3 assists and 4 rebounds. That was the most points a freshman ever scored in my school. I was point guard doing a great job on offense and defense. I averaged 13.7 points, 4 assists and 5.7 rebounds. I really wanted MVP, but once I won offensive player of the year I felt satisfied. I was also the team captain along with another one of my teammates. In my opinion I feel like I was the best player on my team. Some people may agree and some may not, but my hard work showed.

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RED-NOS E P ITBU L L Jonathan

I remember one day I was in my crib looking at my dogs and I said, I want a new dog. So I went to the pet store and went looking for a red nose pitbull. I’ve only seen blue nose pitbulls, so when I saw a red nose it was so special to me. I wanted a newborn red nose. Think about it: a cute dog that you can train and love. By the way, if I bought him or her they will be a part of my open family. One of my blue nose pitbulls named Mina died of old age.

Now I need a new dog. I kept searching and searching but the stores didn’t have my dog. It was a big disappointment.

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DU BAI Taylor

When I was thirteen years old, my parents took me to Dubai.

The trip on the plane took hours, but I always heard good things about this place so I knew it would be worth it. When I got there I was anxious to get my luggage and go to the hotel.

When I finally went to the hotel the chandeliers looked like they had diamonds on them. The room I was staying in looked like a condo in Manhattan. I was amazed. The very next day I was petting camels and riding ATVs, which I don’t do in my everyday life.

I enjoyed the weather the whole time there, it was terrific. I wish I could go back in time. In conclusion: enjoy the time you got now because you’ll never get it back.

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WR ONG SIDE OF T HE BED Judah

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning. I began my hygiene and towards the end of doing my hygiene I felt like I shouldn’t go outside, but it was my son’s birthday. I began to get dressed now and it was about 4-something. Once I was done I went to the block, once I got there I started doing my ones and twos having fun with a couple people from the block, mostly females. Then I got hungry so I went to Crown Chicken with a couple guys; and they stopped at a store while I kept going. Once I arrived at the chicken spot I ordered my food. The clerk said it would take 10 minutes to finish cooking, and I said ok. Something told me to just leave, but I didn’t listen to my heart and stayed.

Once I sat down, a detective came in and put handcuffs on me and walked me out, asking my name and telling me my birthday. I began yelling to my sons telling them to watch because I thought he was going to take me somewhere and punch me out because I was affiliated. But he didn’t do that, instead he called his partners and they took me to the station and then I began to check in and once I got to the cell they finally told me I was getting charged with attempted murder and a couple more charges. I then told the officer to let me get my one call. I then waited about 30 minutes until I got it, and then hurried to make my call.

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T HE M OST INT ERESTING STORY Melahki

The most interesting story in my life was when I was in NSD & NSP. When I first got arrested I thought I was going home but I actually didn’t. My first time in court was tough but I had to deal with it, I had mixed emotions. I was feeling sad, happy, and relieved. I was sad because I had court and my legal aid said I wasn’t going home, and happy to see my family and felt relieved because I knew what was ahead.

I took it day by day feeling down. My first day I was in Lutheran and then I got transferred to Saint John’s, where I stayed for 3 months. I was back and forth to court feeling stressed and down.

I thought I was going to go home but then I ended up getting placed for 18 months with a 6-month minimum. It’s only been 10 days since I started my journey. I learned to have structure and how to conduct yourself, and that there’s a time and place for everything.

My first day they was going to the barber shop, but I had to stay in because of a 3-day hold. So I stayed back by myself and played 2K until they came back. When they came back, we ate, recked out, watched a movie and then headed upstairs. And I went from there. It felt good to be in placement doing my time and having a set day to go home.

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WHEN I G OT SHOT Kylik

I remember when I got shot. My chest felt hot and my arm felt hot. I was bleeding and my vision was blurry. I went to the hospital for 3 days. I left the hospital and went back to an NSP program. I was on bed rest for a couple of days waiting for my body to heal.

In a few weeks I went on a homepass. Now I am healed up ready to go home. When I go home I am going to job corps to get my GED and to get a job. By the time I’m 19 or 20, I’m going to be rich.

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FR OM COR ONA, QU EENS Andres

From Corona, Queens where I grew up with nothing that turn to something From trapping and finessing every day ‘til that one day that all the something turn to nothing again. And there I was, cold and in handcuffs, thinking how bad I messed up.

Now 16 months later, still away from home, spending holiday after holiday in the same place, looking back at how I grew up in the system but with a better and more mature mindset, trying to be a better me and succeed.

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A

G OOD

DAY

Cristian

One weekend I went to my father’s house, as I always do. He told me and my brothers we are going to the beach. We got so hype, because at first we thought we were going to Coney Island beach. That’s where we used to going. But he told us we weren’t going to Coney Island, but another beach called Manhattan beach. We got even hyper because we never been to another beach other than Coney Island. I asked him how do we get there?

He told us we have to take a bus. I don’t totally remember which bus, but I do know it took a long time.

Finally after about an hour we got to the beach. My aunts, uncles, and cousins were there. I was hyped because I knew the day was about to be lit. The first thing me and my cousins did was go to the water. We all started dunking each other, having a lot of fun. Then my uncle went out to go catch a fish. I watched him cut it up, and he was skilled. My other uncle started to grill and he made burgers, hot dogs, chicken wings, and the fish my other uncle caught. We ate a lot of food and drank a lot of soda even though my aunt yelled at us and said no more soda. We ended up going home in a fun and happy mood. It was a good day.

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T HEN Quashawn When I was in 1st grade that was my first year of elementary school. I was so young, I was only 5 years old, and I was very smart as I got older. I turned 8 years old when I graduated elementary school, then I told my dad I wanted to play football.

He then found a team for me to play for, so I was 9 years old when I started playing football. I was playing for a team called the Malverne Wildcats, then I kept playing for that team then I started middle school.

I moved to Queens then I was now enrolled to I.S. 59 in Springfield, so I got familiar with all the kids at the school. I tried out for the basketball team, so we had tryouts on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I had finally made the team and played for half the season, then I was getting bad grades so my coach kicked me off at the end of the school year. I had failed all my classes so I was told I have summer school, and for the next 2 years I had graduated middle school and now I’m in 10th grade locked up in placement.

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OC T OPU S Maximus One day I was at my titi’s crib in Staten Island for a family get together. It was summer time so we was in the pool and was barbecuing. For the first time my family introduced Octopus to me, and I fell in love with it.

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CAR Jamaud One day me and all of my man’s was chilling in front of the project building when we saw a car cruising back and forth. At first we didn’t realize until the car spin back for the fifth time and we started looking back out. The car then pulled over, rolled the window down, and asked, Did you call an Uber?

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PAIN IN THE SYSTEM Maurice

Running from the cops—there were 4 of them. I was only 11 years old and I was with two other kids older than me. They were 14 & 15 years old. I ran into the corner store in my neighborhood.

I said give me your money—the guy said “no”—The older kids pulled out a gun but it was actually a bb gun. The guy thought it was real and he put up his hands. He opened the cash register and gave us the money. It was snowing outside—so it was around December or January. After that I ran and I slipped on the ice.

My boys picked me up and we kept running till we got to my neighborhood.

I looked behind me and I saw two cops chasing me at first. But that didn’t bother me—I kept on running. Then I saw the cop car lights and I got scared. The lights scared me. The cop car pulled up in front of me and pulled out his gun. Then I put my hands up and they put me in the cop car and took me to the 60th precinct.

They called my mother and then they called the Juvenile desk and said we are bringing another kid. They took me to the Juvenile Detention Center. It took about an hour to get there by cop car. It looked just like a jail and I was scared. I walked in a room, one of the boys asked me, “Are you in a gang?” I said “Yeah.” It turned out that we were both in the same gang. That was the first time I

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ever said out loud that I was in a gang. He believed me because I said all the right things. I went to sleep. There were a few other kids there with me.

I went to court and saw the judge. He said I could go home with my mom. I remember I had pizza from Dominoe’s that night.

I went to sleep and I have no idea what happened the next day.

I was tired—tired from going through the system. I’m still in the system now but I feel like I have changed in certain ways.

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826NYC and The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. 372 Fifth Ave Brooklyn, NY 11215 718.499.9884 www.826nyc.org STAFF

Joshua Mandelbaum, Executive Director Aarti Monteiro, Director of Education Nico Garbaccio, Volunteer and Programs Manager Chris Eckert, Store Manager Steph Del Rosso, Programs Coordinator Yessenia Moreno, Programs Coordinator Summer Medina, Community Engagement Strategist Jesusdaniel Barba, Programs Coordinator Lauren Everett, Communication & Fundraising Coordinator Sonya Moore, Retail Associate

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Tammy Oler, President Ted Wolff, Vice President Ray Carpenter, Treasurer Michelle McGovern, Secretary Michael Colagiovanni Laurie Malkin Amir Mokari Arjun Nagappan Katie Schwab Danielle Sinay Andrew Sparkler Liza Steinberg Alyson Stone Maura Tierney Thom Unterburger Kathryn Yontef

826NYC PROGRAMS After-School Tutoring We offer free tutoring four days per week for students ages six to eighteen. Students work with volunteer tutors in small groups to finish homework assignments, complete independent writing projects, and to read independently, in pairs or in groups. We serve students of all skill levels and interests and work with parents and teachers to create independent learning objectives and support plans for struggling students.

Evening and Weekend Workshops We offer writing-based workshops that provide in-depth instruction in a variety of subjects that schools often cannot include in their curricula. These workshops cover topics such as college entrance essays, comic book–making, creative writing, journalism, poetry, and filmmaking. All workshops are taught by teaching artists and are limited in size to ensure that students receive plenty of individual attention.

In-School Support for Teachers The strength of our volunteer base allows us to provide inschool support to work with students in New York City classrooms.

We recognize that large class sizes make it increasingly difficult for teachers to provide individualized feedback and guidance on research and writing. We send volunteers to the classroom to assist teachers with providing this essential one-on-one support.

Hosted Field Trips 826NYC welcomes classes from public schools for mornings of high-energy storytelling activities. Our most popular field trip is our Storytelling and Bookmaking project, in which elementary school students write, illustrate, publish, and bind their own books in a twohour session. At the conclusion of this trip, each student leaves with his or her own copy of the book and a newfound excitement for writing. Our other field trips cover topics such as memoir writing, screenwriting, and more.

Student Publications Through our writing workshops and after-school tutoring program, our volunteers work with students to help them create stories, poems, and ’zines. Because we believe that the quality of students’ work is greatly enhanced when they are given the chance to share it with an authentic audience, we are committed to publishing student works. By encouraging their work and by guiding them through the process of publication, we make abundantly clear that their ideas are valued.