Skip to main content

Second Year Belle: Birtu Belete


I love Christmastime more than any Jewish girl that I know.  I'm not sure if it's the Christmas carols, cozy winter clothes or the spirit of giving, but there's something about the Christmas season that makes me happier than any other time of year. The Salvation Army's Annual Sears Holiday Shopping Spree  reminded me exactly what Christmas is about. One hundred  boys and girls between the ages of five and eleven were given a hundred dollar gift certificate to buy essential items for the holiday season. I had the privilege of shopping with four wonderful children all of whom inspired me and made me feel so lucky for all of the amazing opportunities I've been given. The children were so conscientious and good-natured, it was amazing to see how well these young kids understood the value of a dollar. They were so gracious and I could tell that they appreciated the time we were spending together. I think the highlight of my day was when one of the little boys I shopped with told me that his dream in life was to go to UCLA! I am so grateful for Bruin Belles for allowing me to take part in such wonderful events. Seeing the smiles on these kids' faces was priceless and I couldn't have asked for a better way to usher in the holiday season. 


Birtu Belete
Second Year Belle

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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

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

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,