Students in Kake have been writing personal essays for Raven Radio. This writer wanted to show how he slowly inhabited the life of a criminal, when faced with tough family circumstances. (Emily Kwong/KCAW photo)

The following personal essay was written by a student in Kake, as part of a special project between the Kake City School media class and Raven Radio.

Due to the sensitive nature of the material, this student has chosen to remain anonymous. Prior to moving to Alaska, his family lost everything in a house fire. They became homeless and they moved to Anchorage when the writer was seven-years-old. For the next two years, he lived in and out of homeless shelters. And shortly after they moved into a stable home, he began stealing. 

I’m a student at Kake City Schools. I love science, math, and chess. And this is the story of me growing up.

When I was young, I was obsessed with materialistic things. Mainly because growing up, I never had crap. By the age of 10, I was walking into grocery stores and taking anything I desired for the price of nothing. At first, it was for food. My family was poor and sometimes we didn’t have food in the cupboards. So, I went out and got my own food to feed myself and family.

But even when we became stable again, the stealing didn’t go away. My habits became worse.

Every time I walked into a store, I felt like I had to steal something or else it was a missed opportunity. It didn’t really matter who I was with. I would do it with my mom around, my father, brothers…it didn’t matter. My subtle habits became my addiction and the pathway through my life darkened.

Listen to this student’s essay, in his own words:

Downloadable audio.

I began stealing from friends and family. I would steal money, drugs, anything I could profit from. Stealing was the easiest thing that I’ve done.

I was never caught until I was 13. By then, I was following people, watching them type in the PIN to their debit card. Soon after, I would pickpocket their wallet or steal their handbag out of their purse and go take out their limit from the ATM. I was never caught for doing that though. But what I did get caught doing was stealing food from cars. I tried to walk out and someone came and stopped me. This was the first time that I had been caught and luckily it was for only something trivial.

When I was a freshman, I was stealing hundreds of dollars of clothes at the mall every weekend. I made money by stealing designer clothes, cologne, and accessories and selling them for a fraction of the price. I was just a young kid, born into a poor family, and I thought the only way out was to do it on my own. This was the only thing I knew how to do.

My first encounter with the police is when I was stealing from a Sephora at a JC Penny Mall. I already had merchandise from several other stores in my bag when I was caught. I was walking out when three women walked out with me and grabbed me by the arms. I didn’t know what the hell was going on. They told me not to struggle because I was flipping out for a moment.

After I realized what this was, I complied with them and walked with them, until we got downstairs. I felt like I could break free from their grip and so I tried to break free. They just held me while I was struggling. After a while, a big dude ran up and tackled me to the floor and then got me in handcuffs me. Since I tried to run, they could’ve technically charged me with strong arm robbery. But I was only 14 so they decided not to. Instead, I was assigned a parole officer and this was our first encounter.

After a while, I just went back to stealing. But instead of it being from stores, I stole from people. I would wait in the locker rooms during gym, at school, carefully scanning someone with valuables on them. Then, I would do one of three things: I would figure out their pin, or pick their lock, or just hope the leave their stuff unlocked. I’ve gotten thousands of dollars of items from doing this my freshman year. I stole everything from iPhones and “Beats by Dre” headphones to True Religion pants to Gucci belts. I also stole from my band room while our band class was playing for a football game. On one occasion, I stole four phones and $700 in cash.

My sophomore year came around and that’s when I wanted to step it up. I wanted to start doing organized crime. I plotted robbing a store that I thought had a perfect location. But then I later found out it was my friend’s aunt’s store.

Before I was able to go rob a store, I decided to go rob someone who was messing with my girlfriend. I told her to instruct him to go to the park near her house, but instead of her showing up, I would. I went with two friends, one just recorded while the other helped me kick his ass. I didn’t fight him as much as I expected because I expended all my time during the 90-second robbery just trying to get his phone. That was our main target because it had information that we didn’t want to leak.

Once we got near the park, we had our bandanas on and our hoodies up and we were ready to roll. We were across the field of the park when we saw him sit down under a canopy. I didn’t hesitate to start walking towards him. As I got closer, my stomach got a little nervous, but I didn’t really care at this point. He noticed us walking towards him as we got near him. His eyes hesitated for a second and he asked us, “What’s up?” I walked up to him and said, “What’s up?” and then immediately decked him in the face.

He was shocked and he began to try to defend himself. He shoved me back like he was trying to wrestle me. I grabbed onto his phone. We were wrestling around. He began to scream bloody murder for help. All the while, my friend was putting work on his body and face. He told us not to take his phone and that he had money instead. We didn’t respond nor take the money. After another 20 seconds of wrestling him, I finally got ahold of his phone.

I was completely and utterly exhausted. At that moment, I was reminded how out of shape I was. We got up and I saw his “Beats by Dre” headphones, so I grabbed them also. We barely got away. We hid in the woods and worked our way through a neighborhood, with the police and neighbors looking for us. An hour later, our driver finally came and we made it out safe.

But one month later, my past finally caught up to me. I was arrested in school and this was the beginning of my epiphany.

Some people come out of jail and come out not learning a single thing. But every day I was there felt like a day in my life, wasted with some people who were not like me. I definitely saw a difference between them and myself. That was my epiphany.

Juvenile facilities were easy compared to jail or prison, and juvy was complete hell for me in so many different ways. I learned a lot from that day. I haven’t stolen anything from anyone since the day I was admitted to the juvenile center. I decided that I had to make a change. I was ready for a new life.

This student’s media teacher is Jordana Grant in Kake. With production help from Emily Kwong.

Tauno Hill is a senior at Kake City School District and big fan of boxing. (Jordana Grant/KCAW photo)

The following personal essay was written by a student in Kake, as part of a special project between the Kake City School media class and Raven Radio. 

Hi, my name is Tauno Hill. I’m from Kake City Schools and I’m a senior. I always loved watching fights. Ever since the first boxing match I saw: Mayweather vs. Ortiz. But I didn’t really get into boxing until I was a sophomore. Boxing consumed me. I love everything about it. That year, I learned everything I could about boxing. I watched old fights like Hagler vs. Hearns and Ali vs. Foreman. I studied the technique and the the different styles. I learned how to train my body and eat right and get ready for a match.

But there are always cons and boxing is no exception. One of boxing’s biggest problems is corrupt judges. Like in the fight between Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez . If you asked anyone who watched the fight who they thought won the fight, everyone, literally everyone, would’ve said Mayweather by a landslide. But, one of the three judges scored the fight as a draw.

Listen to Tauno’s essay, in his own words:

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That was not the first big fight with bad judging and it will definitely not be the last if we don’t do something about it. Of course everyone was angry that this happened, but what people don’t realize is that this happens to lower level fights and the judges get away with it. So many young and up and coming boxer just end up giving up and quitting. They give up on boxing as a career.

The boxing world may have its problems but that doesn’t mean it is all bad. Boxing is one of the best ways to lose weight and get in shape. Some of the most fit and athletic athletes in the world are boxers. Boxing helps get you in shape through purposeful and useful training. In other words, boxing like everything else has its ups and downs.

Tauno’s media teacher is Jordana Grant in Kake. With production help from Emily Kwong.

Simon Friday is a junior at Kake City School District. (Jordana Grant/KCAW Photo)

The following personal essay was written by a student in Kake, as part of a special project between the Kake City School media class and Raven Radio. 

Hello, my name is Simon Friday and I’m a junior at Kake High School. Addiction — without a doubt — is bad. Well actually, it depends on what you’re addicted to. If you’re addicted to making others happy or addicted to a sport, it’s not so bad. In fact that could be good because you’d be helping society.

But if you’re addicted to something harmful, that’s when it becomes a problem. Addicted to something like alcohol. Now, alcohol has been around for a hell of a long time and will probably be around long after we’re all gone. And it hasn’t always been bad. In early England, beer was actually safer to drink than water because the water was so polluted. So beer was actually the safer choice back then, which is kinda weird to think about.  But nowadays it’s not.

Listen to Simon’s essay, in his own words:

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Nowadays, millions of people every day drink until they are senseless. They drink alcohol until they can’t remember what they did the night before. And they continue to do it no matter how crappy they feel the next day. Which honestly is something that does not sound like a good time. Not to me anyways.

Now some of these people have responsibilities that they choose to ignore. Whether it be their job, their family, their kids, or even something as simple as a job interview that they have to make the next day.

Now I’m not saying all people who drink are bad people. No. That’s not it at all. Because I have some friends who drink and they’re still really good people. But it’s because they are still responsible. They understand that there are things bigger than one night of drinking. But then you have people who just drink every night because they want to or because they feel they need to. Drinking to escape something that they feel is looming over them. Running from reality. And you can see this all over the world.

And then, when they come back to the real world, they’ve dug themselves a hole so deep it feels impossible to climb out of. So what do they do? They go right back to the bottle. Right back to the club or the bar or even right back to their own living room, to get away from their problems.

And this may not seem like a bad idea to some. But if you fall into this pattern it could easily lead to depression. That’s when you feel trapped. Like you have nowhere to go. And from there, it could very easily to depression, which is something much more serious. Depression is something that could lead to harmful and dangerous things. Things like loss of appetite, lack of drive to do anything, loss of interest in your passions, and worst of all suicide. All because that bottle hooked you. All because you couldn’t put that bottle down, come back to your own life, and take care of your problems.

But still I can understand it, because lots of people feel alone when they’re not. Lots of us feel that the things we face are things that no one else will help with, or wants to help with. That’s just not the case. In reality, there is always someone around who lives and cares about your well-being. I’m not saying that quitting is easy, but it’s never going to get done unless you try. Because if you’re willing to stop drinking, you’re going to have to come to that decision on your own. No one is going to make it for you. And if you show people that you’re willing to try, they will support you.

So instead of reaching for that bottle, reach for the phone. And call someone. Tell them you need help. Don’t afraid to reach out to your friends or your family. You do not have to be controlled by your drinking.

Simon’s media teacher is Jordana Grant in Kake. With production help from Emily Kwong.

Riley Davis s a junior at Kake City School District and one of an extended family of seven. (Jordana Grant/KCAW Photo)

The following personal essay was written by a student in Kake, as part of a special project between the Kake City School media class and Raven Radio. 

My name is Riley Davis and I’m a senior at Kake High School. When my dad got remarried in 2006, I never thought that would later mean five more siblings. My younger siblings were all born in the last decade and our house has stayed the same size. And the craziest part is that four of the five are boys, which has been pretty hectic.

The house can’t seem to stay clean for a whole day. The littlest one likes to take all of the books out of the bookshelf and throw his food on the floor. I also probably step on a lego at least once a day.

My oldest boy is Talen, who is 9. After him, came Sierra, 8, the youngest girl. Then Tyler, 7, Erik, 5, and Dylan, 2. Before they came along, I lived in my two bedroom house with my dad, step-mom, Amanda, and older sister Talia, who is college now. The house fit us well, but it wasn’t long before it started filling up.

As you could imagine, I got pretty good at taking care of kids. And after while, I got used to our quiet house steadily getting more noisy. As more kids started filling it up, I enjoyed it. It’s safe to say there’s never a dull moment in our household. I like helping out and spending time with all of them, and learning about their personalities. They all have different quirks that make them unique.

Listen to Riley’s essay, in her own words:

Downloadable audio.

Our family has gained a sort of reputation around town. Whenever we go to a town event, we walk in and everyone probably thinks, “here comes Amanda and all of her kids”. But not in a bad way. We just tend to make a big entrance since there’s so many of us. I can’t imagine it any other way. I love all of them, even though they’re starting to get older and not wanting to hang out with their lame big sister.

Just to give you a taste of what it’s been like living with this crazy bunch, I’ll try to summarize each sibling the way I see them.

So my oldest brother is Talen, who is 9. He was a cute little skinny baby. He wasn’t the craziest out of my brothers that I can remember. But now that he’s older, he’s definitely gotten to the mean little brother stage. He doesn’t listen to me anymore, calls me names, and occasionally tries to beat me up (even though he’s scrawny). I guess I still gotta love him though.

My sister Sierra, who’s 8, has been a sweetheart since she was born. Even though she is surrounded by boys, it’s only made her tougher. And she hasn’t lost her girliness. She’s helpful and the most creative kid I’ve ever met. You can give her a few random items and she could make it into anything she wants.

Next is Tyler, who’s 7, and he’s a crazy one. When he was younger, he used to love me and like being by me. But now he’s acquired some of Talen’s traits of stuff like “Leave me alone.” Calling me names. Typical little brother stuff. When Tyler is in a happy mood, you might catch him singing. He does it all the time. I love listening to him because he makes such a performance out of it.

Erik is 5 and he’s the outcast out of all the kids in terms of appearance. All of the other kids have brown hair and brown eyes, but Erik is blonde with blue eyes. He’s of course pretty rowdy too, and a mama’s boy. He likes to hang out with Talen and his friends and be crazy with them

The youngest, Dylan, is of course the wildest because he’s only 2. Definitely crazier than all the other kids at that age. He’s loud and likes to play with cars and run around playing with the boys and attacking us. Just the other day he punched Erik in the face and knocked his tooth out.

The boys enjoy doing things like playing their Xbox, and play on their ipods (or iPads). Lately they haven’t been wanting to do much else. In the summer they ride bikes a lot and go jigging at the creek for fish. Sierra likes to play on her ipad, help bake, and create things.

My older sister Talia was the mean one. She would always be rough with the kids and play tricks on them and tease them all the time. I always felt bad, even though I thought it was kind of funny. But she also took them outside to do things to get them out of the house.

I think the best part about having a big family is that you always have someone there for you. And I have all these brothers and sister to look up for me, which makes me want to be a good role model for them. We all love each other and always have a good time. I would say that the only downside for me is that there’s not much privacy, especially in our small house. And when I need to be somewhere to do homework or read, I rarely find a time where the house is quiet. It doesn’t bother me much, now that I’ve gotten used to it though.

Having a large family I think has definitely shaped me as a person. It’s given me the ability to care for kids and definitely the ability to be patient. Patience is very important when dealing with them and trying to remember that they’re only kids and they make mistakes. I think my life without all of them would be a lot less exciting, and I’m glad I have all of them now.

Riley’s media teacher is Jordana Grant in Kake. With production help from Emily Kwong. 

Jonah Davis s a junior at Kake City School District and a skilled gamer. (Jordana Grant/KCAW Photo)

The following personal essay was written by a student in Kake, as part of a special project between the Kake City School media class and Raven Radio.

Hello, my name is Jonah Davis and I’m in 11th grade at the Kake City School District.

When I was, oh about six years old, I got my first gaming system, a Game Boy Advance. I never brought it with me a lot of places because my Mom wouldn’t really let me. I think I had about three games for it, which were King Kong, Spyro, and some other Pokemon game. Ever since then I’ve been playing games.

Why? Well, games always just gave me something to do every time I was bored, parents were in an argument, I had no one to hang out with, or just when I was having a bad day. My mom’s fiancé gave me his PS2 or, PlayStation 2, along with one of his games, which was called Jak 3. That was the first game I ever completely beat. Even my sister played it with me every once in awhile.

Listen to Jonah’s essay, in his own words:

Downloadable audio.

After getting tons of games for my PS2 I decided it was time to move on. I really wanted to get a PS3 and so with my birthday money and money I had saved up in the past, I got one. And that’s when I really fell in love with RPG games. Role playing games. This is due to a game I got called Skyrim, which is my favorite game of all time. I’ve beaten it like four times, and let me tell you, that’s a really big game.

Once I got tons of games for my PS3, I decided it was time to get another new console. The new playstation, which is a PS4. A PS4 has very good graphics, better controllers, and a better look for the console. I haven’t quite stocked up on games for it yet and I don’t plan on getting rid of it anytime soon anyway, considering the fact that Sony just came out with one of the coolest ideas for a video game console, I think.

It’s something called the PlayStation VR. VR means “virtual reality.” It’s kind of like a pair of goggles with a headset on and some handheld joysticks that you use to control your character. It feels like you’re uh actually in the world because the VR covers your whole field of vision, so that all you see is the game’s world. So with that now, I’ll be hanging with my PS4 for awhile.

I really like games because I just like the fact that you can be a character in a medieval, modern, or even futuristic world and then you have all these options on what you want to do and what you want to be. It’s almost like a place where I can do stuff I can’t actually do in the real world. That’s pretty much it, I’ve been playing games pretty much all my life and I don’t plan to stop anytime soon. Heck I might even pursue a career in video game design.

Jonah’s media teacher is Jordana Grant in Kake. With production help from Emily Kwong. 

Shalene Moller is a senior at Kake City School District and one of the few female students who regularly hunts. (Jordana Grant/KCAW Photo)

The following personal essay was written by a student in Kake, as part of a special project between the Kake City School media class and Raven Radio. 

Hi, my name is Shaelene Moller and I’m a senior at Kake City School District. Six years old. I am stumbling on the ground as I try to follow my dad’s lead. I see some dug up ground just up ahead and I quicken towards it. It’s a moose print.

I was only six years old, but I knew this was something I loved. I grew up in an outgoing family with a very unique lifestyle compared to other people around the nation.

I grew up on the water, harvesting fish like halibut and salmon. I grew up in the bushes, picking delicacies such as blueberries and huckleberries. And the most important to me: I grew up in the woods and hunting, in search of making more memories.

One of my favorites of these memories was when I was about 15 years old. It was about 4 a.m. when my dad and I woke up to get ready for the day ahead of us. I was very excited. I grabbed my compass, bullets, rifle, and backpack quickly to make sure to make it before the sun rises. As usual before every hunt, we wake up my mom so she can take our picture together and wish us luck before we head out the door. She asks us to do this because she always wants to see us off.

Listen to Shalene’s essay, in her own words:

Downloadable audio.

My dad and I then get in the truck and begin our drive there. I plug my dad’s iPod into the speakers and put on the playlist we usually listen to on our way out hunting, which is mostly country music. When we reach a spot, we pull off the road and wait until it’s just light enough to hike back into the brush.

Then we gather our items and follow the trail back through the muskeg. The branches were damp with dew and the ground was stiff from the cold night. So it wasn’t a very comfortable hike back, but it would definitely be a memorable one.

We ran into a couple grouse crossing the path along the way and also a cow moose in a raspberry patch about 35 yards from us. When we got to our spot, we sat down and called for moose. After waiting about 30 minutes, of continually trying, we decided to hike even further back. We didn’t know the area very well, but we decided to experiment since the ground was chewed up on this trail we came across. So we crept slowly and quietly as he hiked, watching our surroundings.

All of a sudden, we heard branches breaking and moving rapidly ahead of us. This huge brown mass with wide antlers stood up and looked in our direction. My dad quickly loaded his rifle and lifts it to focus, but the bull takes off further back and we follow. My dad does a cow call and stops the bull in this tracks. He then takes the first shot, but it didn’t work. The bull continues walking. I look at my dad with wide eyes, scared the bull would walk even further. We were awfully far back to pack such a gigantic animal already. My dad takes his second shot, stunning the bull, but even yet this didn’t work. My dad takes a third one and he is still walking, so my dad rushes back to his bag to get more ammo.

By the time we look back, the moose isn’t there anymore. And we sigh at the thought of it going further. After all, he was the largest bull we ever harvested. We hike in the direction we think he went and my dad stops. He yells in excitement and calls me over. Our moose is down.

I call my mom as soon as I can find my dad’s phone and tell her, opening the conversation with my favorite phrase, “The moose is down.” The next thirteen hours were spent taking pictures, cutting and cleaning the meat and packing it out. Halfway out, we had help from my dad’s friend Ben, which helped a lot. If he didn’t help we wouldn’t have been done until around 3 a.m.

We pack through swamp, creeks, beaver dams, and muds before reaching the truck where my family was gathered. Everyone was excited. Succeeding this marked our fourth successful hunt for moose together, as a father and daughter.

Shalene’s media teacher is Jordana Grant in Kake. With production help from Emily Kwong.