In her talk, Riley explores the power of the written word to build compassion, to create connections and community, and to empower incarcerated individuals. Riley Thompson is a senior at San Francisco University High School. Her lifelong passion for writing has inspired her work with The Beat Within, an organization that uses the written word to empower incarcerated individuals. She hopes to use her talk to humanize an issue that is so often considered in the abstract as well as reinforce the power of writing as a common framework for our shared understanding. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx