Today was a great but sad day. Today was our last day in writing with Shelva and aztec math with Candonache which made me sad because, I really enjoyed both of the classes. I’m going to miss writing because, I got to practice for writing my college personal statement and I got to see how scholarships work and how i can get to them. Math on the other hand was really fun I thought as math is one of my favorite subjects so to learn about the nepo was really interesting and I’m glad i got to have the honor to learn it with all my friends. I also would like to give a shout out to Shelva and Candonache for taking time out of their lives to come and teach us, I really enjoyed spending time with you guys and receiving the knowledge you gave us, so Thank You. 
Violet
Today was a pretty interesting day to start off we didn’t have to be up early so that started my day off pretty good. For one of our classes we had the honor of Joshua Hathaway speak to us. He spoke to us about colonization and how our culture is very important to keep going. We also got to talk with Katherin Watkins and she was so hyped for our class, which made all of us energized. I really enjoyed writing with her because she made it fun and easy to understand what we were doing.
Day 11, Violet
Well today overall was a pretty interesting day. to start off the day I woke up in a good mood although I was pretty tired. As every morning we did our indigenous games which was really fun we got to work with some new moves and incorporate love with it. After breakfast we got to go to Gross Anatomy Lab to dissect a human body. I thought this was just amazing and really interesting because i have never seen a dead body nor touch a real heart and lungs. It’s just interesting that you can see all the diseases that a person had and what the inside of a body actually looks like because it is nothing like it is in pictures. To end our day we got to have a social class thing that had us think about our feeling an write about them and i just thought this was creative cause i feel like we don’t really think about our feeling but more of brush them off so when they had us reflect on our feelings it made me more aware of them.
Violet’s day 10
As I have been at this program everyone here has had part in inspiring me especially the elders i have met. Many of the native people from the Wishtoyo village had an impacted me with how much they are involved with their culture. Seeing how involved they are made me want to learn more about my culture. Spending time with Auntie Julie and hearing her sing and teaching us native songs and how to make baskets inspired me as well to want to learn more of not just my culture but of everyones. As for the future generation I hope to leave the legacy of showing that it doesn’t matter what background or where you come from you can overcome anything if you put your mind to it.
Violet’s back from Wishtoyo day
Coming back from the Wishtoyo village was sad because we had to leave the beautiful village and amazing ocean but we got to come back to Ben Florio. Where we learned about films and the background music which was really chill to come back to and really uplifted my spirit. To start off the eighth day of the summer program we got to do the Indigenous games and play against each other. I thought this was so fun because we got to work with each other in a groups and use strategies. This helped to wake me up and energize my spirit for the whole day. To finish off our day, we got to have a talking circle with Auntie Josie, whom taught us a bunch of native songs. 
Violet’s Wishtoyo experience
For my first day at Wishtoyo we were welcomed with a great song that made us feel like family. We got to do activities like secret geometry, beading, and learning about high tides. I thought the secret geometry was really interesting because Joe taught us how to use geometry with art which was really cool because I love art and to see how to incorporate math with art stuck out to me. The beading we did was awesome because, we got to actually make the whole necklaces from scratch and we got to learn about the traditions of the chumash people and how they made jewelry. When we learned about the high tides it really shocked me because i was unaware of how serious the high tides are in the Wishtoyo village. I thought it was helpful that the chumash people educated all of us about all the high tides so we can take that information and tell others about it so more people are aware of the situation and how serious it is. The best part of the whole Wishtoyo trip I thought was getting to go to the beach and swim and learn how to surf. The beach was just so amazing and beautiful and it was a great way to bong with everyone.
Violet’s 5th day,
For my fifth day at Pitzer college was an amazing experience. To start off the day we did martial arts and learned to strategize formations for the flower wars. This was really interesting to me because I never knew that natives did martial arts and it was fun to learn how the native people defended themselves and used it to be one with themselves as well. Later during the day we did some basket weaving which was just amazing. I really enjoyed learning how to make a different tribes basket and the kind of tools they use I thought it was very interesting because, I don’t really have experiences with making baskets so to learn this was nice.
Violet’s experience so far,
During my four days I have been at the Native program I have learned: creative writing with Shelva and started brainstorming and researching colleges, Vicente and Coyo shared Aztec Dance, we colored and beaded with Julia, the blanket exercise, soapstones, and clapper Sticks. With the creative writing and brain storming for colleges, it was really interesting for me because I really got the experience of searching for the colleges I want to got to, and it me think of how college time is coming soon and how much more serious I need to be. When doing the blanket exercise I felt like this made everyone in the program closer because it was such a touching subject that really spoke to all of us on different levels. As for me I was grateful that we went into the subject of Natives losing their lands and getting put into boarding schools, because it opened all of our eyes to what happened and what is still happening. My favorite experience so far has been the Aztec Dancing that we did today, because it was so beautiful to learn other peoples traditions and the way they give thanks to the creature. I also liked it because I haven’t really got the experience of learning native dances like in my own tribe so to learn these dances was wonderful and it made me want to be more into my culture.
Violet’s review of Spirit Game.
Watching Spirit Game overall was a great movie that was very entertaining. I have never heard of this movie before so to be introduced to it was a great experience because, now all the people like me who haven’t heard of it can introduce it to our friends and family and it can be spread. One thing that really spoke out to me was when they were talking about how women also have an impact on lacrosse. Even though women don’t play the game as much they are believed to be a much more powerful human being.
Violet’s first day,
So today I got to meet a lot of different kinds of Native Americans. We got to do fun activities with one another to get a little more comfortable; which I thought was a really great way to break the ice. During this program I look forward to learning about everyones tribes whom I don’t really know of.
nativeyouth2college.org 