No Longer a Baby Belle

I will always remember the night that I was accepted into Belles. I was with friends at cafe 1919 eating gelato (what a throwback) when my phone started blowing up with instagram requests from current belles. Right from the start, this made me feel so welcome. When I came home to my dorm a few hours later, I was so excited to see a cutout belle on my door with my name on it. That weekend, I met the board at the board/baby belle brunch and then the rest of the belles at fall retreat. Since that day, I have been honored to have so many amazing women in my life to look up to, learn from, and be inspired by. Whether it was my six fellow freshman baby belles, the wonderful women on executive board, or most recently my alumni mentor, I have gained so much from being in the presence of belles.

Watching senior spotlight presentations this year at general meeting, I was struck by A) how incredibly diverse in interests, passions, and experiences belles are and B) how much I learned about some belles that I hadn’t known before! I can guarantee you that each and every belle is worth getting to know, listening to and learning from. It is this wealth of different experiences and knowledge that makes belles such an amazing resource in which to be involved. From class recommendations to professional advice to good old-fashioned commiseration during midterms and finals, belles have always been there to lend a hand.

This year, as I aided in recruitment tasks with the rest of the DBs, I was struck by the fact that I was no longer a baby belle. When I was first applying to belles, I couldn’t have imagined that I would soon be on the other side of the process, welcoming prospective baby belles into their interviews and speaking to them at open house. Everything that I’ve learned from belles has helped me grow as a helper and leader, and I have loved watching my fellow 2019 baby belles grow and change as well.

Tess Kara

Public Relations Distinguished Belle

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What I Didn't Know

What I didn't know The morning after I got the highly anticipated call that I got into Bruin Belles, I found this bell (figure 1) on my dorm door: a door belle…get it? I can still very clearly remember the few weeks surrounding this moment. I wanted it SO BADLY! When I saw the Belles tri-fold at the enormous activities fair, I knew immediately that I needed to be a part of that community. On paper, it sounded like everything I wanted: a group of likeminded passionate women who did community service together and other social events. I worked tirelessly on my application and was so nervous for my interview that I signed up for the very first slot (Monday at 8am… yikes). I got the long-awaited call late on a Friday night. Yashvi, the public relations director at the time, told me that I had gotten in, and while still on the phone I screamed “I GOT IN!” to my roommate. My heart was beating so fast. However, I think if I had known what was to come, my heart would have beat so fast it

Stepping Outside my Comfort Zone

Spring Retreat 2023 was by far one of the highlights of my BBSA experience, for reasons I never expected. Throughout my second year in Belles I served as a Social DB, and for this retreat, was tasked with the job of heading the Activities Committee. A couple months of planning and preparation later, I was wracked with anxiety about being so in charge– what if nobody had fun? What if we planned too much? Too little? What if someone gets hurt, what if I screw up as a host, what if quite literally anything negative happens? It was a very rigid, unforgiving feeling, and I was then left with the personal expectation that I was going to get there and not be able to enjoy myself because of this pressure. I was terrified of letting anyone down, especially so because this was the first weekend retreat Belles has hosted in years. If anything went awry, I felt fully unprepared to handle it, but at least I could say I had considered the worst. I tried to take solace in that semblance of control,

Finding My Home

My time as a Bruin Belle has been incredibly transformative. This exceptional group of empowered women has not only enriched my college experience but also inspired me to make a lasting impact on the world. Entering UCLA, I was eager to find a community that aligned with my passion for service and personal growth. Joining the Bruin Belles provided that and more—a warm embrace within the vast UCLA landscape. At the core of our experience is our dedication to service, from local volunteer work to impactful fundraisers. We take action, build connections, and create change within our community. Being a Belle has given me the opportunity to volunteer for initiatives such as dog adoption, environmental activism, food insecurity, education advocacy, and houselessness. Through volunteering in various areas of our community, I have found purpose and a newfound passion for advocacy. Additionally, BBSA is more than a service organization to me; we are a sisterhood that fosters leadership. The s

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