Skip to main content

Belles vs. Basketball: SOARin' to New Heights

Ok, I’ll admit it: I was always too nervous to sign-up for SOAR when it was a wheelchair basketball day. SOAR is one of my personal Belle philanthropy favorites, and has been since my first year in Belles (it is now my fourth year in Belles). We basically get to have fun with kids who have autism, cognitive impairments or muscular dystrophy as they get their “Saturday workout on” in everything from martial arts to rock climbing. It is honestly the best way to begin a Saturday, as it always adds gratefulness, humility, beauty and so much laughter to my day. But back to wheelchair basketball. Yes, I was nervous when I found out that this particular Saturday, we would be playing wheelchair basketball. What if I just could not roll in a wheelchair, what if I fell off? All of these crazy doubts kept filling my head! Well, someone once said that the only way to conquer your fear is to face it, and so I strapped myself into the wheelchair and tried to push. And boy, was it tough work! The amount of arm work that goes into pushing it would give Popeye a run for his money (you know, the sailor who eats all the spinach). Of course, all of the SOAR kids were such experts, and they graciously offered to teach me how to veer left and right, turn, speed up and slow down in the wheelchair. I was amazed at their skill. Not only that, but they were excellent at shooting the ball into the basket! We got to laugh, joke and race each other in the wheelchairs. One of the kids even showed me his impressive rap memorization skills as he was effortlessly beating me in a wheelchair race across the court. But, on a deeper level, being in that wheelchair for 2 hours gave me at least a little bit better of an understanding of what those who must use a wheelchair each and every single day must go through. I have so much admiration and respect for those people. And this was just another incredible lesson that a Bruin Belles philanthropy event had taught me about life. 

 Maryam Nouh
Distinguished Belle
Fourth Year Bruin Belle

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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
Post a Comment
Read more

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
Post a Comment
Read more

One Year Ago, Today

One year ago today, I was working on my application for Bruin Belles. As I think back to that time of my life, I remember the immense sense of uncertainty I felt. Would Belles like me as much as I liked them? I look back at this time of my life, a mere 365 days ago, and hardly recognize the person I was. Belles has been a large part of this personal journey.  When I applied to BBSA, I was just beginning my junior year at UCLA. My first year had been cut short because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and my second year of college was entirely online. Determined to make the most out of the later half of my undergraduate career, I applied to Belles. I was resolute on finding a community that made UCLA feel like home (as cliche as it sounds) while supporting my personal and academic growth. After attending my first Belles event, I knew I had found what I was looking for (and more).  As an organization, BBSA has given me invaluable opportunities to serve the Los Angeles community, allowed me to le
Post a Comment
Read more