An evening full of inspiration, goals and exploration of the future is what several girls were rewarded by way of the charity BelEve’s vision board workshop. The aim was for the young ladies in attendance to see past the barriers of coronavirus, to look forward to the new year and create a vision for the future.

Thursday the 7th of January late in the evening, the zoom call began with an activity for the girls to write down all their achievements of 2020, the exercise was aimed at probing these future independent women into developing the attitude of seeing positivity in a negative situation. Many commented on the importance of mental health, lockdown for many youths meant the inability to see school friends, to stay fit, and just enjoy what is associated with the youth. The internet had allowed one member to research further into mental health and their experiences in lockdown in relation to their own mental health. Another member of BelEve stated that in relation to mental health, as well as other aspects of oneself, you should “Be addicted to bettering yourself everyday”, for this to happen the girls were set the task of setting goals for themselves for the next 3 months and incorporating these into their vision boards.

It was essentially a conversation with the activity of completing a vision board. Paper, glue and scissors took up the boxes of the girls zoom calls as ideas of what girls could put on their board was fuelled by co-founder of BelEve Chyloe Powell. The girls visibly became more open and divulged into their experiences of 2020 and their hopes of 2021. which was also found on their vision board creations by the end of the session. It was an hour and a half of normality in their lives which was well needed after the announcement of exam cancellations.

The workshop allowed girls of similar ages and backgrounds to come together safely and enjoy each other’s company. It was full of inspiration, music, dancing and further activities to kick off the new year in a positive fashion.