Student
Length: 3 pages
Student
Description: I have selected a poem from my book. The poem is about love and having this magical feeling to it.
Length: 2 pages
Student: Anthropology
Description: My biggest inspiration comes from the longing of wanting to reconnect with my chichimeca (an indigenous nation from north central Mexico) roots, my ancestral land, ancestral song and philosophies. Through the forced colonization of Mexico a lot of languages, tradition and information was lost. The jaguar was very symbolic in a lot of Meso American cultures, so I thought what if I paint my body like Zelda (A female jaguar who lives in a reserve for jaguars and other endangered species down in Mexico)? Would I then be able to reconnect? Description of poem is printed which also includes a live figure drawing of my self with half of my body covered in rosettes done by one of my friends.
Student
Student: My academic major is Liberal Studies. My pathway is to earn a teaching credential and bilingual authorization, to teach in dual language classrooms with LAUSD.
Description: I was inspired to write and share this poem, by the struggle of choosing between living two lives. As much balancement, planning and time that is put into these two lives, I truly feel as though I can never live both lives at the same time. By living one happy life, in one half or the other, I have to completely submerge myself into one lifestyle. If not, it will feel as an incomplete whole or pretending to be someone I am not. I see this concept is like a fraction, which is challenging to solve, so I plan to resent these real life math situations..
Description: Earthly Judgement vs Final Judgement
Student: Nursing
Description: Francis Tam (she/her) is the youngest daughter of a family from Cambodia. Along with English, Khmer and Cham is the language predominantly spoken at home. Considering Francis was born in the US, she includes herself in APASS and UMOJA events as much as she's able to remind and educate herself beyond the told stories from her family. While pursuing a Nursing degree and working part-time, Francis spends her free time writing and painting. She has always felt passionate about the art of writing and painting but only saw it as a hobby/stress reliever. Before college, she grew up in a 98% Hispanic community in Santa Ana. Growing up, Francis always felt like an outcast of an outcast, and with her brown skin, distinctive eyes, and hijab, she stood out as a target of racism and discrimination. Through writing, she hopes to inspire and meet others in her shoes and improve her literature to start expressing her experiences, challenges, and traumas in ways she isn't able to.
Student: Psychology
Student: Anthropology
Description: My inspiration for this poem was anger. Often, we feel anger when we dwell on our past, and think about all the people who wronged or betrayed us along the way. We forgive and eventually let go of the anger, but we never forget.
