HaU BLOG Posts
You are capable! You are more than enough! You are intelligent! You are kind! You are growing! As members of the Latine community, there are an abundance of social forces that seek to put us down. However, we deserve to take up space and utilize opportunities at important institutions such as UCLA. Some of us face backlash because of our legal status, others of us have struggled with low socioeconomic status, and most of us have dealt the plights of machismo. Regardless, we persist and accomplish amazing things. To all my hermanas, I am incredibly proud of all that you’ve accomplished this quarter. You deserve to be celebrated and appreciated, and my hope is that I have made you put your doubts aside for a moment to realize how amazing you are. Con mucho amor, Andrea Diaz
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Having the opportunity to live in Westwood this past school year has allowed me to meet some of my closest friends to this day. I still find it hard to believe that I was able to grow close to so many people at a rapid pace, but nonetheless I am glad I did. I have experienced so many memorable moments these past few months with my floormates, most that I will cherish forever. In my collage above, I included images of the people who have helped me get through the year, from going to grab lunch to much needed late night deep conversations and laughs. Prior to the start of my 1st year at UCLA, I was afraid of not finding my own crowd at such a big institution. Fast forward a few months, and HaU has allowed me to grow closer to so many hermanas who are from similar backgrounds, yet unique in our own individual ways. It is nice to have that group of people who know how to have fun, but who also hold each other accountable when it comes to school work. Through HaU, I was able to meet so many new faces, including both of my amazing roommates Itzel & Olivia. I love the idea of knowing that they are not only my roommates for the rest of our college years, but two of my closest friends who will forever be a part of my life.
as winter qaurter is ending, i got a spurt of motivation. im so excited for whats to come and on this vision board are all my goals <333
During our time in the Hammer museum, our group was fascinated by the Ulysses Jenkins’ Without Your Interpretation piece. This stood out to us because of its relevant and provocative content. Through his art, Jenkins conveys that historical events, regardless of how far in the past they were, still affect our social and political landscape today. Most importantly, we reflected how both history and culture can be blurred in the media depending on who gets to tell stories about the BIPOC communities.
A common theme that we saw in the exhibits that we visited during our time at the Hammer Museum was change. Ho Tzu Nyen portrayed people in the Korean Peninsula protesting for change. They used ominous ambiance to portray the violence and dark times that the people of this region underwent. Additionally, we saw police brutality portrayed in the short film, especially through the tactic of silencing protestors through violence. We can relate this to modern times, more specifically the summer of 2020. During the summer of 2020, we saw thousands of people protest against police brutality. Furthermore, during these protests we noticed that there has been very little change in how law enforcement responds to protests. Overall, we would recommend that anyone who has the opportunity to visit The Hammer Museum do so.
From the moment I could first remember, music was something I loved. I don't know where it started but getting a portable CD player with the pluggable headphones when I was five years old is where my guess goes! Music was a way of expressing myself when words could not; if that feeling was anger, frustration, happiness, or sadness, it was told through my music. My mom and dad loved music, too; every weekend, my dad would turn up the speaker as he worked outside, and I helped him. Or when my mom would turn her oldies and tell me stories about my uncles and aunts that loved them too. I felt that the music connected with them and my family. It helped me associate those memories with the songs. However, music also helped me through the hard times, such as when I had to see my parents cry as they lost two of my siblings when I was just about eight years or when my mom got the call that my dad wasn't doing so well. Being the oldest, I felt I had to be the firm rock of the family when they needed someone to fall on; I was there. However, that left not much room for me to express what I felt, which fell to me using music to help me through those moments. It gave me hope in moments of sadness and gave me wisdom when I needed it. Music for me is not just a pass time; it's a lifeline, a memory holder, a voice to talk to, and a feeling processor. I will always be thankful for it. :) Spotify Username: saradelao8089
Living in your truth is your power because it is one of the things no one could take from you. Learning to own your life experiences and represent the way they built you into the resilient person that you are today is one of the best feelings in the world! I created this collage to share a bit about my life story and the reasons in which I keep going everyday:
1. The clipart in part one represents when I was in high school. I was a cheerleader for two years, and it introduced me to many of the friends I had. During high school, my social life was a 10/10. I had plans everyday, but no plan for my life. I lived in the moment while I neglected my education. My parents worried about me but I focused on the bonds I had built with people. 2. Part two represents when I graduated from high school. I applied to four CSU's before I graduated and received rejection letters for all of them. My last option was community college and it was disheartening seeing others moving onto four-year colleges. After graduating, the people I considered my friends stopped talking to me and never checked up on me. I dealt with sad emotions from loneliness, and I was also coping with feeling like a failure. 3. Part three takes place in the summer after I graduated high school before I started community college. This summer was the loneliest I had ever felt, but I dedicated it to self growth. I brainstormed all of the things I would do in CC to successfully transfer. Most importantly, I learned to be content being in my own company. Self love flowed through me. 4. Part four is my experience through community college. I was able to get both years paid for, I obtained a 3.9 GPA, and I built connections on campus. All my life, I felt like A's weren't attainable because I didn't feel smart enough. I realized just how capable I really was. 5. I got accepted into all of the schools I applied to transfer to. After persevering, I noticed all of these doors opening for me. I committed to UCLA, continue to work on myself, and continued working. 6. Part six represents all of the things I am working towards and that I am passionate about. I realized how much social justice matters to me, especially in Black and Brown communities. I aspire to travel, look out for my family, become a business owner, and share my kindness everywhere I go. All this to say, "Find Your Purpose or You Wastin' Air" -Nipsey Hussle It's easy to give up when you feel alone and like nothing's working out. Please keep going! Give everything your all, have faith, and the pieces will come together in due time. 💙 I created a vision board at the beginning of 2022. Given that we are already two months into the new year, I would like to take a moment to reflect on what I have already accomplished. This was the first time that I decided to set goals for myself at the beginning of the year, and so far, it is one of the most beneficial acts I have done. This vision board has helped to guide me towards becoming a better me. A few things I wanted to improve this year include but are not limited to not just doing good in school but better engaging with my courses, saving money for a specific goal (buying a car), consistently working out, and growing spiritually. However, the vision board was only a small portion of what motivated me to do better. Apart from the “vision,” I also created the path to get me here. For example, I copied my whole quarter onto a calendar to stay on track with my classes. I wrote down assignments, due dates, quizzes, readings, midterms, and final test dates. So far, we are already more than halfway through the quarter, and this has been a tremendous help. Nothing feels better than seeing your goals met because it shows you how truly capable you are. I have seen my hard work reflect on my graded work, and I couldn’t be prouder. Now moving on to fitness, my favorite hobby I have picked up. As a former athlete, I have always been on and off exercising. However, I was determined to feel good while moving my body this year. I can’t lie and say that I haven't also been working towards my dream body because I mean, who wouldn’t want to achieve their dream body, haha. But I’ve been working more towards feeling good and comfortable in my body. I started by working out four days a week, which is pretty damn good for me. Unfortunately, I have cut down to working out three days a week, especially because of midterm season. But trust, Ima get back on my grind and start going hard again. So there is room for improvement in this aspect of my vision. I also plan on getting a gym membership soon, specifically as soon as I get my DL, haha. Since I’m currently back at my parents house, there are no gyms nearby, so I’ve been working with what I have at home. Luckily I have weights, and cute “gym” fits to keep me going. But I think this is a good step because I get to work with light weights while also focusing on my form and mind-to-muscle connection. This style of working out will prepare me for when I get to work with more equipment. Finally, spirituality has been one of the most challenging; nonetheless, there has been a lot of growth. Working on my spirituality is one of the best forms of self-care that I can practice because I truly am working on myself when I do it. I started strong and deeply connected with God; I was praying consistently and watching sermons, especially ones presented by women of color. However, now I am working on myself differently. This is lowkey a reminder to talk to God more because, boy, I get a lot off my chest when I do. At the moment, I am practicing detachment to many things. I have held on to habits, people, and emotions that just no longer serve me. Practicing detachment isn’t easy but also isn’t hard. It’s a concept I first had trouble understanding, but then I realized I was attaching to the idea of the practice, and this wasn’t helping. But now that I can practice it, I find myself more at peace. The hard part is that I still get emotional over the trauma that I thought I had healed from. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and it’s part of the healing process. I hope that sharing my reflection is helpful for any of you, Hermanas. If you have similar goals as mine, I am here for you and with you. We all got this.
Con mucho Amor, Brit. I remember the first day I went away for college like it was yesterday. Thanks to my family, I was able to transfer all of my belongings to my dorm at Sunset Village for Move-In day, mi Papa, Mama, Mary, Diana, Joe, Abraham and Tia Maria. After we finished unpacking, we all went home until Fall Quarter 2018 started. Once that day came, I couldn’t help but get emotional. All I could think of was that I was finally going to pay back my parents for all the love and support they gave me. You see, they don’t have a college degree.. or a high school diploma.. nor a middle school one, and of course not an elementary one. Yet, they still managed to be the BEST teachers I could have ever asked for in life!! As I enroll in the last set of classes and reflect on my time here at UCLA as an undergrad, I think of all the times I wanted to give up.. when imposter syndrome was winning, I thought about my WHY. I thought about my motivation and heard my parents’ consejos.. Papa saying, “No te vayas a rajar” and Mama saying, “échale ganas, Mija.” This is for them, but this is also for me. I may be the first, but I for sure won’t be the last.
Happy early Valentine’s Day, Hermanxs! I wanted to send you all some love through this week’s blog post. I have become very appreciative of you all for creating such a warm and welcome space. With this holiday in mind, don’t forget to prioritize loving yourself first and foremost. ♡ I have included some of my favorite lovey-dovey songs to jam out to (Spotify and Apple Music friendly). Enjoy!
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3LnCWVwz0rksRUaRHEaNIv?si=3aacc0c455bf4af9 AppleMusic:https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/hau-valentine/pl.u-MDAWv8qT3DXKZV Con amor, Lexia Being a senior at UCLA who spent a year and a half virtually due to the pandemic, I realized that most of my “college experience” was robbed from me. As a freshman, I was a huge introvert who would go home every single weekend, however, during my sophomore year I started living a little more. As I was getting more comfortable the pandemic hit and everything became virtual, so as a senior I have decided to be more social and make amazing memories with some of my closest friends pictured on the collage I made of my 2021-2022 academic year so far. I can’t wait to make more memories before graduation. <3
Remember to live authentically.
What is authenticity? Differs between you and I Is it when I “do my hair like I just don’t care”? Or perhaps when I “live life on edge”? It’s overused and antiquated, you say? To what timeframe and degree do you restrict authenticity? Our world is tethered by the mass media Is there plagiarism detection software, in this undeniably digitized world? Where is the Turnitin code to submit My Authenticity.docx? 99% similarity report Rewording and rephrasing, is it still all the same to you? My brain is littered with pre-rehearsed knowledge disseminated by you So, call into question authenticity Preach it, but take it down when it’s found Promote it, but hide it when it isn’t quite what you were looking for When it’s too similar to the mold or far from it No in between, but stay within the lines Think outside the box, but make sure to crawl right back when you say so “Live life authentically.” Or is it just a phrase on an eye-catching backdrop? A file you’ll send across the web Clicks, retweets, shared link, liked, viewed, screenshotted It never happened if you didn’t see it and it does not stop until you deem it The world is under your control, spin it to your desire, and watch us whirl Rewired to your liking, it never ceases to stop We are typing away the story of our lives, but you dictate every syllable of it I fix the passage, but the edits never seem to satisfy you But we yearn for it, we crave it Knowing well your hard drive has no code for acceptance At least not yet, but when? We wish for a better tomorrow, but understandably too afraid to seek it “Tomorrow is a new day,” or so they say Probably too reused for you as well. It is an incredible feeling when you have it all together. Society has created this image of an “it girl” that has a perfect schedule, a productive day, and an effortless life. Since the beginning of college I have chased being that “it girl.” I have had 75% failure, and 15% success. However that 15% gave me strength and confidence to keep pursuing my version of “it girl”. Every attempt has rewarded me with the feeling of accomplishment. I have created my weekly schedule, I have a to-do-lists, and being able to satisfy everything on my lists and schedules keeps me motivated throughout the quarter. It has been difficult to stay consistent at home, but I look forward to starting again on campus when COVID-19 cases decrease. Adapting this lifestyle has given me a sense of direction, and keeps me organized. My typical schedule would be to attend class in the mornings, work midday, gym in the afternoon, and homework time after dinner. At first I was chasing the image of this lifestyle, but now that I have created my own version I truly just needed the practice to create something personal. This lifestyle brought me a sense of self. It is easy to fall behind in school, it is easy to lose motivation, and lose track of success. The routine I have created has set me up for success, and prepared me every week. Moving forward I want to continue this routine, and learn more about myself to be able to create more systems to improve my daily life. I plan to explore different study methods next to find the best version of studying for myself.
Although there is still a lot of uncertainty as to what is going on in the world, I remain hopeful for myself and others. A lot of pain and suffering that I experienced in the past two years was because of a number of things including the global pandemic, extremely stressful home situation, and depression. I really was so exhausted and hurt because of how much I wanted things to be different, how much I wanted to have peace. I carried the burden of wanting everything to be okay and having no power to do anything about my situation. However, I was wrong. I eventually did do something and I was able to start receiving treatment from CAPS. My therapist is one of the best people I’ve ever met. She was so understanding and helped me take small steps towards becoming happier. It took months and months of work for me to get out of my depression, and sometimes I still struggle to this day, but I have learned so much throughout the past two years. I have learned that when it feels the hardest, pushing myself to even just drinking some water or brushing my hair makes the biggest difference. I have learned that living in the moment and becoming more mindful has made me less stressed and has allowed me to enjoy and appreciate all the good I have in the present. I have learned that there are people who care about me, and that most importantly I have to care about myself. Self-care and self-love are some of the best ways I was able to advance and move onto better things. Realizing that I am alive in this moment and I can do something about my life right now, altered the way I see life forever. If you’re stuck in a place where you’re unsure what to do– do what makes you happy. You are living right now in this moment, why not enjoy it and make the best of what you can and love yourself and have fun, because you deserve that happiness now.
My brain paints me a picture of peace
But my foolish heart seeks adventure I am meddling with reality and fiction But I don’t mind this contradiction I prefer to be neither here nor there In fact, I much rather be nowhere With nowhere to go, I can simply be I can laugh at sunrise or cry during sunset There isn’t a need to be anything but me And "that’s beautiful", my mother once said In this cruel world, I will rather be lost I don’t want to discover all its ugly truths Because they all come with a cost There are times when the world is silent Too silent that it shakes me to my very core For silence conceals the truth and stifles cries It won’t be too soon before we have another war A war started by those spreading the lies Earth can keep my body, but not my soul For it will escape and leave to explore Explore areas where I'm not in anyone's control I will live life as I want to in my own way And travel places left and right, up and down In the hyperactive city of LA, I am a stray But that is ok because one day I’ll be found My journey at UCLA has been anything, but smooth sailing. I remember the day I received my acceptance letter I was in complete and utter shock because I was the last person to think I would get accepted especially in a STEM major that had me shook to the core lmao. The center picture was taken the first day I ever stepped foot on this campus at Bruin Day 2019. I was in awe of the campus, the atmosphere, the possibilities seemed endless. The picture of me holding that sign was my first day of classes here and I want to tear up looking at this picture because I was so naive, excited, hopeful for the years to come. My first two years feel almost like a blur. I have been tested time and time again if I am good enough to continue here, if I am smart enough, talented enough, social enough, etc! My first year was hard because I was so focused on sticking to the books that I didn't allow myself the time to explore my interests and really find who I was besides the straight "A" student in high school. I questioned my place because I never really had the support at UCLA I knew all my support was back home and that was the only place I really felt safe. It was hard making friends because the only people I talked to were people in my classes and I never saw them in the subsequent quarters. I stopped working out because I told myself I wouldn't have enough time and I was just a ball of self-doubt. Then the pandemic hit Spring 2019 of my freshman year and we were sent home away from campus and honestly I felt happy about it because I felt I didn't have close friends back at school anyways so I could go home to a place with familiar faces: my home <3. However imposter syndrome hit me the hardest Winter 2020 of my sophomore year to the point where I felt I just didn't belong at UCLA. I felt just utterly disconnected with campus (being completely online) and the fact that when I went back I really had nothing to look forward to just stress, rent, bills, and responsibility. I was dealing with anxiety, imposter syndrome, and fear of failure it was everything you could imagine. I withdrew that quarter and really looked into other options, but that quarter tested me and taught me I am more than just a grade, I have values greater than school, I don't have to be a hardcore stem genius to make my family proud because it wasn't making ME happy, and I have amazing opportunities to connect/make friends/grow my network and learn to enjoy the little things! Spring 2021 changed everything for me. I learned how to be kinder to myself and listen to my mind and body and take breaks when I needed :') I found Hermanas and allowed myself to be apart of a space where other people like me were doing the damn thing and doing a damn good job! I finally felt like I had value in the crazy institution that accepted me. I landed my dream job with UCLA Athletics and things were just looking up! Fast forward to Fall 2021 which was one of the absolute best quarters I have ever had at UCLA. I finally felt happy! I was lucky to have the most amazing roommates who understood and accepted me. They became real friends who I could lean on and confide in. I was able to experience Hermanas in person and bond with the amazing ladies that surround and support me everyday <3 I am inspired by all your valuable experiences and I hope you all can come to me for anything as well! I was able to take a break from classes to work out, relax, do things for me, which I had never done before! I was able to have my amazing family, best friends, and boyfriend by my side every step of the way to support me! I started my dream job as a sports marketing intern with UCLA Athletics. It just finally felt full circle! I felt so complete and grateful for the opportunities, friendships, and most importantly lessons that I have learned throughout my three years here. Even though I continue to question myself everyday I am smiling reflecting on the journey I have been able to overcome thus far. I hope that that drive can continue to motivate and that I use it as a way to remind myself how much I have blossomed and grown at this campus. Looking at my picture from Bruin Day in April 2019 it helps me realize all the hardships, yet beautiful experiences UCLA has given me and I hope to seek the better from this moment forward even when it gets extremely hard. Todas son mujeres poderosas and I hope you all remind yourselves of this everyday! <3
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AuthorThe following posts will be from your fellow Hermanas. Archives
March 2024
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