Saoimanu Sope | APIASF-NBCUniversal Scholar, 2014 | UC Santa Cruz |
âSaoiâ is in her final year at UC Santa Cruz where she is studying Film Production and Community Studies. Following graduation, she has plans to further her knowledge and experience in youth counseling and/or psychological therapy for, primarily, urban youth. Until then, Saoi is in the process of wrapping up her senior capstone for Community Studies after having spent six months working in the Media, Arts and Culture Department of the RYSE Youth Center in Richmond, CA.Â
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You may be thinking, âhow could anyone love to âlet goâ?â Itâs probably easy to make sense of this when it comes to the not so great experiences in our lives, but let me explain myself a bit further.
The idea of âletting goâ has too often been associated with the understanding that if you're letting go of something, it must be because that something has caused you more harm than help. And let me just say that in some casesâprobably more than both you and I have ever consideredâthat isnât true at all. Letting go shouldnât be seen as a way for us to rid ourselves of the negativity in our lives, but rather, a way for us to accept our experiences for what it was/is, and look forward to what is yet to come. When we feel comfortable with this practice of letting go, we are unconsciously preparing ourselves (emotionally and mentally) for whatever may come our way. We donât get caught up in comparing the future to the past and we certainly donât let what weâve already been through, impact how we approach our future endeavors.
 Letting go may be hard to do when it comes to the good in our lives, but in doing so, we acknowledge that, as weâve probably heard over and over again, life goes on. Now, donât get me wrong⌠When I say âlove to let goâ, Iâm not asking you to completely trash your happiest memories and forget about them. What I am saying, is that if youâre anything like me: someone that takes a million and one photos and posts everything on social media so that I have the pleasure of reliving that moment as much as I want (whether it be how beautifully my food fills my plate, the incredible view of the place Iâm currently at or the amazing people that Iâm sharing a space with at some crazy cool event), it may be relieving to let go of those memories so that youâre not constantly stuck on what âused to beâ.
Loving to let go is something that we should all get comfortable with because letâs be honest, weâre all going to have toâif we havenât done so alreadyâlet go of something or someone even when we absolutely donât want to. Letting go is a part of life and it shouldnât solely be seen as a good or bad thing, but rather an approach to lifeâs great and not so great experiences that we may or may not have anticipated. And thereâs nothing wrong with that. So love. Let go. And prepare to do it again.Â