Over the past several weeks, the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley has partnered with the Pasadena Unified School District’s LEARNS department in it’s “No Limits” Summer Program. Mondays and Wednesdays, June 5th– July 12th , YWCA Pasadena coordinators Jomie Liu and Amanda Montez facilitated “Girls without Limits” workshops. 60 girls enrolled in the PUSD program attended over 3 periods during the day. These seminars focused on building self-confidence, addressing problems, and providing an outlet for self-expression.
Throughout this program, we were reminded of the depths that are often overlooked or unseen in the lives of young women. Poetry was a main component of the program, and the truths that they expressed through their work were surprising. The girls were given a prompt to help them be able to speak about the prejudices they face versus their true selves. The resulting poems were honest, insightful, powerful, and often funny. They are a reflection of what young women can achieve when given the space and prompting.
You may view some of the poems from the YWCA Pasadena’s participation in the PUSD program below. For more information about the YWCA’s youth programs please visit our Programs page. For more information about LEARNS and its “No Limits” summer program please visit the LEARNS website.
“Just Because…” Poems
