Skip to main content

Becoming a Belle

 It’s no secret that coming to a campus as large as UCLA can be very overwhelming. With

so many options for ways to become involved in campus life it can be hard to find the place

where you really feel like you fit. Coming in as a transfer student I feared finding my own place

within the UCLA student community. I elected to throw myself into as many activities as

possible at the beginning of my first quarter, but nothing I tried really seemed to fit. I always

heard from family and friends that it just takes time and so I stuck with a handful of them. Close

to the end of its application period I found Bruin Belles. On a whim, and with the encouragement

of friends, while home for a long weekend I decided to apply. At the time I couldn’t have known

how much this last minute application could become such a crucial part of my UCLA

experience.


While completing my application I read through blog posts like this one that mentioned

passions for community service, developing leadership skills, and creating meaningful bonds. All

of these were things I was interested in, but it seemed almost too good to be true. However, after

having become a part of this community and experiencing it for myself I am in complete

agreement. Since joining I have had so many meaningful experiences through community

outreach, have been able to take on leadership positions, and have formed what are sure to

become lifelong friendships. From the very beginning current members made me feel incredibly

welcomed, and every new member I met was so eager to get to know one another. It was an

immediate feeling that I had found my place. Ever since those first few events this feeling has

only grown, and the belles community has become the best part of my weekly routine. So far I

have gotten to experience many events that I never would have been a part of otherwise. It has

taught me skills in time management, leadership, and organization that will continue to stick with

me in all my future endeavors. Additionally it has also provided me with a community that I can

always count on. When becoming a belle you do not only gain opportunities for engagement

with the campus and community, but also a supportive and caring group of friends. Whether at

GM, fundraising on Bruinwalk, or attending long community outreach events, belles make it fun.


Belle Love,

Lindsey Baker
Social Director

Lindsey Baker
Social Director


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

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
Post a Comment
Read more

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,
Post a Comment
Read more