What The L.A. Trust’s Y2Y Conference meant to me

More than 100 Los Angeles student health advocates and their adult allies attended The L.A. Trust’s Youth to Youth Conference.

The L.A. Trust Y2Y Conference was developed by students, for students, and included youth-led workshops on STD prevention, stress, healthy eating and active living. Here’s one student’s account of how this event, for students by students, impacted her.

By Ashley Diaz
Manual Arts High School

Going to The L.A. Trust Y2Y Conference was definitely eye opening for someone like me who was going through a time when I was trying to discover myself. The stories that were shared really touched a place in my heart, telling me that there shouldn’t be such a thing as giving up.

This one presentation by a group of kids talking about teenage stress helped me discover symptoms of stress that I didn’t know I lived with. When I was hanging out with my partner Taaliyah, I was happy I got the chance to know her better, and we now consider each other friends.

Things like that Y2Y Conference really help bring people together no matter their purpose being there. As a presenter, the only thing that worried me was the possible lack of engagement from the audience. But at the end I was satisfied with the amount of responses I got. I really like to try and give a neutral vibe when talking to audiences to make them feel comfortable, that’s why I usually like to use my humor as a comforting tool.

I believe the honesty is what gets the audience’s attention, and it’s a way to help scare them away from the dangerous things we want them to avoid in life.

As for me, the Conference will always be something to be thankful for, and presenting to bigger crowds will definitely help me improve my skills as a presenter. Also, the vibes and positive energy I felt from the staff was very comforting as well as the help that came from everyone, such as the caterers, the presenters, and the teachers. They really help make a difference in the world and they make people like me want to follow in their footsteps.