UC Irvine’s Beach Banzai Service Social!
By Crystal Tran
The Beach Banzai Social organized by Tony Nguyen and Janelle Agustin was not just any common get-together. This event consisted of service projects, a workshop, and activities that allowed members to get to know one another. After setting up and registering, Circle K-ers introduced themselves by playing the Alliterative Adjective Name Game where members would say their name with an adjective that started with the same letter. Then they would go around the circle and remember everyone’s names with their corresponding adjectives. This made it so that people could have a word to associate everyone else’s names with.
Afterward, members made children’s bookmarks for Book Doctor and chatted amongst themselves. At the same time, other members walked around the beach and picked up trash. There was a competition where the person who collected the most waste would win a gift card. Participants enjoyed the watermelon-eating contest that followed and then took part in the Anti-Bullying Workshop. Each person wrote a hurtful word that others have told them on a piece of paper, and then crumpled the paper. When they tried to smooth it back out, there were still wrinkles. This showed that even though people try to apologize and take back what they say, that person is still affected. Members who chose to share talked about their past days of being bullied and they knew that their friends now were there for them.
After that sentimental partaking, the bonfire started. People roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, while others ran down to the sea to enjoy the waves. The last activity was the Love Tap Game. Everyone sat in a circle with their backs facing the middle and their eyes closed. The host of the game would say things like, “Tap those you want to get to know better,” or “Tap the people who have a beautiful smile,” and those who were called up would go around the circle and show them they cared with love taps. Of course, there also many people who changed it up by affectionately tousling people’s hair and massaging other people’s shoulders. This just further displayed the close friendship towards everyone. A bonus to this day was the celebration of two members’ birthdays. It was amusing to surprise them both because both of them expected a surprise for the other, but neither expected a surprise for themselves. During the transitions of each activity, everyone had a chance to talk and hang out with one another. It was amazing to meet new people from different divisions and to form closer bonds with loved ones.
