Skip to main content

A Beautiful Day in May

The drenched t-shirt after an epic water balloon toss turned water balloon fight, the smiles from completing an obstacle course, and the laughter of accidentally running when red-light is called instead of green-light highlight just a few special moments from PLAY Day. Bruin Belles Service Association annually hosts PLAY Day in collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club of East Los Angeles as well as UCLA Athletes. Approximately 100 kids come to UCLA for the event on a beautiful day each May. The excitement as the kids arrive and join their teams for the day is electric. Playing duck-duck-goose waiting for the rest of Team Pink last year, we bonded over our shared love of dogs, math, and carrots. We proceeded to play soccer, tug-of-war, sharks and minnows, and more throughout the course of the day with our teams comprised of Belles, UCLA Athletes, and kids from the Boys and Girls Club. I have been on the same team with some of the same kids for two years in a row, and I’m hoping that we are on the same team again for my third PLAY Day. The event is a prime opportunity to promote positive associations with college, education, and healthy lifestyles for the kids. We aim to model these values in our own behaviors and conversations with them throughout the day of the event. PLAY Day cultivates unforgettable meaning and community. I am incredi-belle-y excited as my final PLAY Day approaches in a few short weeks!

Jenny Rodstein
Distinguished Belle


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Finding Home

I remember going home most weekends when I started my first year at UCLA. I was overwhelmed and felt a little lost (as many freshmen do, even if nobody says so). On one of those weekends at home, I told my mom how I didn’t feel like I had a community that made UCLA feel like home. My parents are both UCLA alum, and she brought up her time in Bruin Belles. She was uncertain if the org was still around, but sure enough, we looked it up and found BBSA thriving. I immediately started going through the website and came across some Blog Posts, like the one you are reading now. After reading about the experiences of previous Belles, I decided to apply. It is crazy to think that I am now sitting here writing my testimony, hoping that it inspires you to join, too!  Bruin Belles has lived up to everything I hoped it would and more. This group is full of the most wonderful women I have ever met, and everybody is so supportive of one another. Everyone is incredibly genuine and just wants the best

Finding My Community

Coming onto campus for the first time as a sophomore was especially daunting. Similar to most people, transitioning to in-person classes and dorm life was challenging. As I attended classes and other club meetings, I felt like I might have missed out on opportunities during the online year to reach out to people and make friends. Stuck with random roommates and no close friends on campus, I felt very isolated. This wasn’t the college experience that I had imagined. But then I started attending Belles meetings and events, and things began to slowly click into place.  Bruin Belles is such a uniquely amazing community where everyone is passionate about so many different things in terms of both academics and personal interests. The Belles community inspired me then and continues to encourage me to push the boundaries of my academic and professional pursuit, to put myself out there, and to carry a positive and optimistic attitude into all my endeavors. From volunteering at the LA Times Fest

Imposter Syndrome and Finding Myself

The person I was when I stepped on campus 4 years ago is unrecognizable to me now. I came to college knowing that I wanted to be pre-med but having no friends or family following a similar path, I felt so lost in navigating my path on my own. I started college being terrified of failing. I was so naive and so desperate to succeed I was not taking care of myself. My second year was when I reached my lowest point. I was so depressed and lonely, I considered leaving  UCLA. I did not feel smart enough to be there, I didn’t feel likable enough because I didn’t really have friends. Joining Belles in my junior year was a big part of completely transforming my UCLA experience. Belles was the first time I felt completely embraced by a group of people. It was the first space in which I felt like everyone truly wanted the best for each other. The people and the opportunity to help others were exactly what my heart needed at that time in my life. Service is something that is so incredibly importan