Sanah Ali DESMA9

 For this event, I went to the Veteran Journeys Opera: World Premiere. This event was done in partnership with the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and the California Arts Council. I really enjoyed this event and it was both meaningful and unique. The composer of the opera is Dr. Kenneth Wells who has an MD and MPH and works at UCLA. In the past he has composed other operas about topics such as mental health. He uses media and the arts to address the stigma surrounding mental health. His first opera was called "The First Lady" and was on the topic of dealing with grief. His second opera was called "The Center Cannot Hold" about recovery from schizophrenia. His third opera is the one I viewed, called "Veteran Journeys".  Dr. Kenneth Wells  I had never viewed an opera before, so this was a new experience for me. I really liked how this opera told stories, while embracing the theatre performance. It told true stories to honor veterans just ...

 For this event, I went to the Noise Aquarium- Online Meditation and Fundraiser- Oxygen for South Asia event. This event was an online meditation session and fundraiser for people affected by COVID-19 in South Asia. As an Indian-American with family in India, this event was really meaningful to me. Some of my relatives and many of my friends relatives have passed away in India due to COVID-19, so I think an event like this is a great way to raise both money and awareness for the situation.  India has had a total of 28.4 million cases of COVID and over 338, 000 deaths. The second wave of COVID-19 in India has put a lot of stress on the healthcare system in the country as it has spread throughout the country. One reason the virus has been able to spread greatly in India, because the ability to social distance is a privilege many in India do not have. Often times, we don't think twice our ability to social distance in our homes here, and we have many resources like masks, deliver...