Week 10 Reflection

This class has been one of my favorite classes I have taken during my time at UCLA. I took this class on a whim off of the recommendation of a friend. I never had any intention of taking any chicano studies related classes as I felt as though I just wouldn't relate to it, being that I am not of a hispanic background. Be that as it may, this class really resonated with me. I feel like I learned about the struggles of a people group so that now I have a fuller understanding of what other people go through. This is one of the things that really has been a repetitive chord in my time here at UCLA, and I love that I have a richer understanding of different cultures and peoples that I wouldn't have had previously. As a woman, I loved this class because the art is so empowering, whether you are a chicana or not, it is so amazing to see what these creative women are doing with their talent to effect change in society. Not only that, but its just really cool to see all the ways in which these women are doing this. No one fits into a "mold," they are all creating art that expresses themselves and creates a larger conversation, but the work is all so varied and different. Even as a resident of Los Angeles, I feel as though I can go about my life in this city and just be more educated about some of the street art that is all around us thanks to this class. Not only that, but the drawing aspect in this class has reminded me how much I love art and creating art, which is something I lost as my life got so crazy as an adult. I am glad I've reconnected with that and I'm really going to be intentional about keeping up with it and sketching or painting more often than I have been.