Category: Uncategorized

7/17 (little late oops)

This past week our assignment was to create something that reflects yourself using photoshop. The prompt was difficult for me as I struggled to decide what to do. As I was throughout campus I continually saw hummingbirds. Hummingbirds have always held a special place in my heart. It brings back memories of my dad and I trying to attract and feed hummingbirds from our own hands. When we hear the distinct light noise of the small birds wings we always smile. I always tend to see hummingbirds in times of need, and immediately become comforted. They always appear at the perfect time and place as a form of support and encouragement. I gain a sense of relief which boosts my confidence. Butterflies remind me of my mother as they are so beautiful and serene. Just as hummingbirds, they remind me how important it is to appreciate all of the beautiful things in life no matter how small they are. The landscape behind me is the flower garden of Claude Monet who is a famous artist. I’ve always felt connected to nature and the true intensity of it all. I always try to take my time and smell the roses instead of moving fast in tunnel vision. The flower garden signifies my grandfather as he encouraged my love of flowers and plants. From a young age, I remember him tending to his own gardens with uttermost love. To this day he grows the most amazing flowers and fruit.

on the 16th we took photos and we edited them. the idea was too to edit your self in a picture with meaning. i choose to take a aztec codex and there meaning and compare me to them in the same posses with the same tools they had just a modern version of there tools. its a way to show my connection with my ancestors and how are people still live on.

It feels so unreal that I’m going to be a senior, even though I have been looking forward to this for the past three years of my life. As a returning student to this program, I gained more friends than the year before and I’m glad that I did.

To the mentors, thank you for being our big brothers and sisters and looking out for us and teaching us your college experiences. And also giving us advice on what to expect when we leave for college.

Thank you Ms. Shelva for teaching us how to research for scholarships, financial aid, and schools that fit our interests. I feel more confident than I ever did before about college and it’s the best feeling ever.

Thank you Ms. Julia for sharing your wisdom and perspectives on life and seeing the world in a positive point of view.

Thank you Ms. Gina and Genna for being patient with us and teaching us about photography and the Adobe Apps I had a lot of fun creating and bring my imaginations to life.

And to the students that turned into friends and turned into my NY2C family, thank you for making my last year at NY2C memorable.

Doing photo shop was definitely a challenge yet I managed to get it done. In the beginning all we had to do was find pictures that we thought meant something to us. My two first instincts were a Tongva village and a soccer field. I thought of a Tongva village for obvious reasons one being that Tongva a part of who I am and villages are sacred to us. I thought of a soccer field too for obvious reasons one being that I grew up playing the sport, two being its something that brings my family together whether were yelling at the ref or hyping up our team. I chose to wear my chaw because its part of the traditional regalia that we wear. I also chose to have a raddle in my hand because it is a sacred instrument to my tribe and when I was younger I used it while dancing to traditional songs. I had switched up one of my background images to the Tongva park sign. I chose to change it because I felt that was a sacred area for my tribe. My images have lots of meaning to them from being barefoot to having my hair down. 

From the mentors to teachers and the elders to youth, every has given a piece of their knowledge and love to me. All the mentors have given me a path to make and follow that fits my plans for the future. When surrounded by them, they give me the opportunity to have a fun side to everything while also having the discipline to be mature at the most appropriate points during the program. The teachers and professor have given me a image and a mold to follow as end product after collegial school has ended. They informant empower me to give myself and reach that certain goal. The elders have shared much wisdom with everyone in the program. Without our elders, the rest of us wouldn’t be certain of the path that needs to be taken or a certain role that we are supposed to fulfill. Our elders are the people who ground us and help reflect on ourselves and our actions. But finally the youth are the ones who have made this trip so worth while. The happiness of the youth ignites such a positive energy from me that gives me moments and memories to cherish. Everyday I would wake up such united and cheerful energy that kept wanting stay. The have had the most profound impact on my life and I greatly appreciate meeting and knowing everyone.

lahoci, thank you for helping me and explaining questions to me easier and you made things easier. I am really proud that I met you and talked with you. And dear Jeana thank you for showing us how to do photo shopping and it was fun. And dear MS. Julia I thank you for doing all of this for us and thank you for everything you’ve done for us all and i will miss you :(.

Well we did it, we all made it through, its been an amazing evening its been an a amazing 2 week period. Really met a lot of great people from all over, i really love everyone, all the good laughs we had all the love that was shared. Really looked up to all the teachers that came and showed us all different times of things and very traditional thing and activities. I learned a lot from everyone really gonna miss everyone. Wish i got to know my mentore a little bit more as well as the rest. But its really been a blessing. Pilamiya (Thank you)

I’m gonna Miss Ya!

😦

SOOOOO this was a great two weeks staying at Pitzer. I made so many friends and learned a lot of information that will help me with college. When I first arrived i thought that since people that already came knew each other, so i thought that i was going to make no friends. But I thought wrong i made so many strong friendships with students and mentors. All of the mentors had a great sense of humor expectantly Aoloni. I think that since Aolani is so close to my age that how we got along so well. I’m greatfull for Weliyah, Michelle, Lohci, Alejandro,  Aoloni, and Adrian for making this a great two weeks. I want to thank Julia for excepting us as her own grandchildren and for her for sharing her culture. I want to thank Genna and Gina for showing us how to photo shop and helping with us with all the blogs. One think that will be forever in my memories is all the classes and all the free time that all of us spent together. One major memorize is when we all traveled to Wishtoyo and all bonded in a way that will never be broken. This was one programs is now going into the books.

well the time has come to an end… I wanna say thanks to all the mentors, that were able to put up with me and my brother. lol, Alejandro I wanna say thank you for being my mentor because I don’t think any other mentor would have made me feel right in at this camp. To all the teachers that taught me new things I wanna say thank you because your just making our future easier for us. Thank you Julia for being my elder, you made me feel like I was one of your own grandchildren XD, but also to all the other elders who I talked to and taught me about your past and culture. last be least I just wanna thank all the kids that are here and made me and my crazy brother feel like at home, and just shared memorable moments together here at the camp and Wistoyo .

I want to thank Michelle for being the most understanding, encouraging and helpful. to me she was kind and concerned for my safety. She was my mentor, but that’s not the reason i like her. i like her because she responsible, and she someone i think i can relate to. i learned to try hard and not give up when things get hard. i’m gonna carry this in the new activities i try