Freedom
Freedom
Francisco Ortiz
Paper, 2021, 16x20 shadowbox
(Photo by Carol Newborg)
Innocent of this crime, I was sent to a violent place for many years. It’s all I knew and saw every day until I arrived to San Quentin; a kind teacher showed me the art of origami. I can fold and unfold my life in different shapes; a kind teacher and origami gave me hope. I learned that to really be free, I don’t need to remove the shackles on my hands or my legs. To be really free I need to remove the shackles in my mind and most important the ones in my heart.