Personal narratives shared in ‘Our Stories: Ourselves’

By Judy Camarillo

Staff Writer

The Cal State Dominguez Hills Women’s Resource Center continues to promote its  book of narratives, “Our Stories: OURSELVES,” written by students.

     Karina Cruz, a student assistant at the center, says the book contains true and meaningful stories about going through a journey in life and learning to let go, as well as how to overcome hardships and being able to reveal your true identity through writing.

     “[The book] is about allowing us to reveal some of our past and recent experiences that [have] made us stronger today,” said Cruz, “ as well as revealing a vulnerable side of ourselves with writing.”

     “Our stories: OURSELVES” was created in fall 2016. It’s written by five authors who have shared their work. Each author is a CSUDH student who decided to share their journey. 

     One of Cruz’s favorite stories is about a student who overcame a challenging relationship by breaking up with her boyfriend.

     She mentioned that this student was caught in a dangerous relationship. It was difficult to let go because his mother was going through medical complications, and she considered his mother as her own.

     The day the author finally built up enough courage to break up with him, his mother died.

     Although it was a tough decision for the author, Cruz said the writer realized letting go was her only option.

     Despite the bad timing, the author writes about how she gained self-love, independence and a guardian angel. In this story she also provided an image of her simple tattoo with a lot of meaning, in memory of her ex-boyfriend’s mother.

     The Women’s Resource Center hopes to continue this book of narratives for this semester. The center is encouraging students to share a story of their own. For more information please visit torolink.csudh.edu under organizations called, The Zine.