Holding On
I wanted to try and help people with the things I have gone through. Knowing these things bring more understanding towards these types of issues and I hate to see people go through trauma.
Written Works
“When the world can be yours”
When the world can be yours, art projects allowed the creators of these projects to use visual, logical, and social-interpersonal learning styles to capture the attention of the Ramona High School students and, more importantly, to promote Mental Health dialogue among one another.
This Art Project required a great deal of internal reflection and dialogue to consider how to voice the concerns of our RAMS and how to reassure others that it’s truly okay to ask for help.
Journal of Secrets
“My poem tells the story of a person whose journal binding broke, releasing all the pages they wrote on during a hard time in their life. As they gather the pages up again, they begin to realize just how far they’ve come from that dark place. They bind the pages together again with a green ribbon, the symbol of mental health awareness, so that whenever they find themselves in crisis again, it is there as a reminder that things do get better.”
Black Lives Matter
I wrote this poem after the murder of George Floyd and the rise in the Black Lives Matter movements across the US. I decided to write a poem because it is a very expressive form of literal arts. When writing essays, we are always taught to be formal and objective, but in this poem I was able to write about the frustration and anger I felt, but also the admiration and hope I have for the Black Lives Matter movement without any repression of my words.
You Belong
“In my essay I discuss the discrimination my family and I have faced as Asian Americans. Growing up in a rural city I faced many racial injustices starting in kindergarten. I then learned my father went through the same problems when he arrived in California at 10 years old from the Philippines. I chose this category to bring the discussion of Asian hate to light. I feel that many Asian Americans’ stories are silenced and dismissed in American history.”
The Same Cloth
“My piece is a poem I wrote about my struggles with self-harm. The piece is specifically about dealing with the reactions of my parents in regards to finding out my first time and my relapses. I think this relates to hope because while the poem does read as something very serious, the fact that I am still here today and have worked through my issues enough to share them with the world shows that it is possible to get better.”
Walking Into Depression
“This story is about a girl who was living a normal life when things all of a sudden went the other way. Most of us were living a normal life before the pandemic started. Quarantine has affected everyone at least one way. It doesn’t matter if it was in a positive or negative way.”
I Have Grown Up Enough
“I wrote this piece the morning of Thursday January 7th in processing my feelings on Wednesday January 6th’s terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol. I was missing my deceased grandfather extra this week, as I reflected on the legacy he helped shaped for the United States, and how I was watching it crumble before my eyes. The title of this piece was inspired by a poem we read in one of my writing classes this week, called Silhouette by Janice Lobo Sapigao, that we were asked to do a free write response to. This is the result, written in that 7 minute period.”
The Power of Words
“I wrote a poem about mental health stigma. It talks about the words one might use and not realize that they could affect someone going through a mental health condition. I created this poem to provide awareness for mental health stigma and how to end it. I learned multiple words that can affect someone going through a mental health condition, some of which I had previously used myself.”
The Caped Crusader
“The poem highlights the story of one of our favorite childhood superheroes in a way that it often does not get told. It overall exemplifies his path for attaining justice not only for himself but for many citizens of his city which, to be fair, is an all too common route taken but it is a bit different when it comes to this specific hero. His story has a more dark and gruesome take to it and is far far deeper than most people who simply watched the movies have come to known. Aside from that is a story that often inspires people to live their most justice and honest life.”