GET TO KNOW THE TEAM! Age, Grade, Dream DesTination River 15, Junior Greece
Kalista 16, Senior New Zealand
ChangMay 16, Senior Iceland
Shaila 18, Senior Jamaica
Elizabeth
Mia 16, Junior Spain
Skyler 17, Senior Japan
Daniel 17, Senior Philippines
Luke 16, Junior Italy
Trent 17, Senior Greece
Ethan 17, Senior Mars
Marlaco 18, Senior Hawaii
Kyle 18, Senior South Korea
Diana 17, Senior Cuba
Caleb 17, Senior Scotland
16, Junior Mexico
OLYMPICS DAY: TEAM D BY DIANA BELLO AND RIVER ABRAMS-GAY One dark night a builder told us to wear the color blue for the next day. Nobody knew why but we followed the directions. The very next day 13 leaders woke up and walked to Leadership Hall wearing blue. We were confused but ready for anything that has come for us. It was a sunny day and an exciting day. Each of the four teams had to wear different colors: yellow, green, red, and blue, which was our Team (D). We also made our team's flag with our color and team's name on it. For fun, we painted ourselves with blue paint and devoted our energy to that. We still have the paint marks on us, even after a few days. The Builders were also included and their colors were black. Throughout the day, we played multiple games and we all had so much fun with multiple losses and wins. The first Olympics game started off with ninja, we were very supportive and proud that we got in second place because we rarely get that. Ninja is a game where people reveal their true karate skills. The goal is to avoid being slashed. After learning that we came in second, we were determined to win more games and continue to be supportive of each other. We won more games, some in the first place and some in second place. We bonded together as a team. We learned how to respect each other and our differences. We also realized not to underestimate others because some Leaders stepped up during the Olympics. The blue team (us) won third place at the end of the day, but we felt like winners because of how our teamwork turned out. We still have our ups and downs on some days, but we are like family - we care about each other. We are continuously working together as a team. However, there were so much spirit, excitement, and celebration at the end of the day. Of course, we all were competitive and wanted to win the trophy. In the end, Team D got in third place and we were happy with that!
MelMira: Social Media + Mental Health By Chang-May Tan
On July 12th, we had the honor of having Melissa Yingst, a well-known activist in the Deaf community, give us a presentation on social media and its correlation with mental health. Melissa proudly identifies as a Deaf, Queer, Latina, Feminista (Spanish for Feminist), and woman. She is passionate about making sure that every Deaf individual's voice is heard. As a result, she has amassed a huge following on multiple social media platforms, @MelMira. She often conducts raw interviews with people from different backgrounds and creates an authentic, safe space for everyone In her presentation, she discussed the pros and cons of social media as it is used to spread awareness, including about mental health and yet it creates pressure for followers to become someone they are not. To tackle that issue, Melissa recommended taking frequent breaks to practice self-care, limiting screen time, and trying new hobbies other than using social media. YLC Leaders and Builders enjoyed her stories and advice. We hope to Melissa continues her advocacy for every Deaf individual.
Double Standards + Stereotypes By Shaila Sams Today, we had a discussion about stereotypes. I think this is a very important topic to talk about. In our society today, we have a lot of stereotypes that are often not talked about. I grew up in an environment where people judge my skin color. My experience, this changed my perspective, in both, good and bad ways. We had an activity where we used cards but couldn't see our card numbers. People that were given cards with numbers of 2 - 5 were unpopular, which meant we had to ignore them. People with 6 - 10 mean general people with 'small talks'. People with A,Q,K, and J meant that they were popular and we had to crave their attention. The activity was fun, but also eye-opening because this is how some people are in reality. Some people are Kings and Queens without realizing it. Some are 2 and some 6. It makes me sad because everyone should feel included, not ignored. My card was 8 and I do feel like that often. Sometimes, I feel I'm placed in 2 - 5. I hope I never make anyone feel that way and I hope you don't either.