On Tuesday, May 12th over 100 Mountain View High School students gathered in the gym to participate in the annual Challenge Day event. The program, organized by Multicultural Commissioner Anna Livia Chen, provided an open forum for discussion on prominent teen issues and aimed to stop all forms of bullying, violence, and oppression in the community.
Reflections on Challenge Day:
“Challenge day is definitely one of the best experiences any high school student could ask for. In one day, I’ve made powerful connections that would’ve normally took any other teen to do in months. This day brought out many hidden emotions that most people hide everyday and showed us how to relieve the pain.”
Joseph Phan
“It was a life changing experience for me. I had attended Challenge Day last year, but this year was even more eye-opening and amazing. I realized how much support I have from my peers through all of life’s challenges. I wish everyone at MVHS could experience Challenge Day.”
Ally Wheeler
“It was probably one of the best days of my life. You can really connect with others and it shows that none of us are truly alone and that there are many that go through the same things we do. It was a great way to express out emotions and it felt great, the program taught us to show not just the 10% of what we show people everyday, but who you are beneath that. Like an iceberg we are so much more underneath all that water. With that other 90% being hidden we are never truly ourselves. When we don’t talk about the things we have experienced or things that have gone bad in our lives we fill up this balloon that starts to leak and the things that we dislike in our lives we project that anger and frustration to the next person filling their balloon and so forth. The program taught us to instead turn it into something better, give others joy and when you do the world is better for it. If you talk about your problems with someone and they just listen, we are much better afterwards. I guess all I’m really getting at is that Challenge Day was a life changing experience and that there should be more of it and even school activities that would continue it’s teachings.”
Minh Nguyen
“This was actually my second time doing Challenge Day because I’m a peer counselor so I was asked to do it again. Once again, I felt cleansed of stress and like I had really gotten to know people better. It’s amazing what simple conversations can do. Most importantly, it was great to see my classmates feel the same way I did previously. My friends let a lot out, and I was really proud of them. I also love how Challenge Day gives students a chance to see another side of their teachers. It’s great to know that people we all look up to have struggled themselves and have fought to get to where they are today. Overall, Challenge Day heightened my respect for our community and reminded me how much I’m going to miss the amazing vibe at Mountain View.”
Althea Turner
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