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“НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЛИПЕНЬ-СЕРПЕНЬ 2014 WWW.UNWLA.ORG 29 Olia Bas, Branch 131 in Hillsborough, NJ, first-time delegate at a UNWLA Convention: I have been a member of the UNWLA for about two years now and was involved in a num- ber of different cultural events and projects— primarily to raise funds for the Maidan and sup- port other Ukrainian causes. These represented only certain segments of the UNWLA work and it was not until this Convention that I saw the whole picture and realized just how multifaceted the or- ganization is. Having a chance to meet the leaders of the UNWLA in person made me truly feel a part of it. I now realize how strong our base is for promoting our culture and helping Ukrainians in need. It is vital for new members to attend such an event to plug them into the organization. I liked the idea of mixing with different branches at lunches and dinners—I have devel- oped new connections which I probably would not have otherwise. Some subjective remarks would be about time allocation. In my opinion, the convention could be compressed into fewer days by extending some of the sessions and providing materials for approval in advance by email. More time could have been spent on brainstorming and discussing the ideas on how to attract young membership and their expectations from the organization. Everything changes and adjusts with the flow of time—so should our organization. Sofia Shields, Branch 131 in Hillsborough, NJ: After attending a UNWLA convention for the second time, I came away being of two minds on the success of the event. On the positive side, I met a lot of interesting women from different generations and with different worldviews; I liked hearing the updates on various specific projects, such as the Women's Studies Lectureship and the partnership with Dr. Fuzaylov from Massachu- setts General Hospital to help young burn vic- tims; and I enjoyed simply hanging out with friends in a festive Ukrainian atmosphere. On the negative side, I thought that the time could have been used far better, as much of it seemed to be spent on procedural issues. Personally, I would have liked to see more guest speakers that would update us on various topics that affect us as wom- en in general and Ukrainian women in particular. I was glad to see many more young people in at- tendance and also to meet some of the older- generation ladies that were young at heart and looking to modernize the organization. One of the most interesting acquaintances for me was pani Martha Bohachevsky-Chomiak, whose book I purchased at the gift shop and am almost halfway through reading. I think that the UNWLA has done a tremendous job over its life for the Ukrain- ian community and I think that with a bit of mod- ernization it can continue to function well into the future. Hopefully my daughter, who is just nine, will one day decide to join it. Behind the Scenes of the XXX UNWLA Convention by Adrianna Rudyk-Odomirok When I was getting married, my girlfriend gave me some advice. She said, “Enjoy the plan- ning of the wedding. The day itself will fly by and the only lasting memories will be preserved in pictures and a dress which you will never wear again.” I quickly got over my initial panic of tak- ing on such a daunting task. During my two-year engagement I promised myself not to stress out. I took my friend's advice and had fun preparing for the most exciting day of my life. My wedding was indeed memorable; but so were the weekly trips to various bridal shops with my mother, as well as all the time spent with my brother designing the invitation graphics. Mama and I would search the Internet for wedding favors and, of course, the delicious cake tastings were worth every calorie. There were definitely moments of stress, for in- stance, when the invitations did not arrive or when our names were misspelled twice on the fa- vor. I am pretty sure we started hallucinating when we were still up at 3 am sewing my embroi- deries a week before the wedding. Yet we made it through and can now laugh about it. Ever since then, I have learned to take things in stride. The feeling of panic might creep up on me on occasion, but I learned to be less anxious about the final outcome. More im- portantly, I learned to be open-minded about the different ways of tackling a situation. Now I take a step back and try to work backwards before leap- ing, and in the end, I appreciate the events and activities leading up to the end result. I cannot say
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