Tuesday, Dec. 9, after school, in Debra Corona’s room, a Tracy High School English teacher, the Mental Elegance club, held Dress to De-Stress. Students were invited to dress up their stuffed animals with fabric and craft supplies at this event.
In order to assist students who were stressed about finals, the club members planned an event for students to enjoy time outside of classes and explore their creativity. Members were inspired by the Roblox game Dress to Impress to create the concept of the event.
With a display of beads, fabric, ribbon and holiday music playing in the background, students created snowmen and superheroes out of their plush animals.
Senior Yulissa Alvarado was inspired by her holiday-themed Pinterest board.
“I made it into a superhero with a Merry Christmas sign,” Alvarado said.
Junior Faith Murphy an Ag/Sci student, IB Diploma Candidate and Club Co-founder Danica Cerrillos and IB Diploma Candidate Yalianni Horta Ruiz all made snowmen out of their stuffed animals.
“I just wanted to make a pretty hat and snowmen wear hats!” Ruiz expressed.
Murphy and Ruiz have both been members of the Mental Elegance Club for over a year.
“That it’s a safe space and nothing leaves the room, we are just all nice to each other” Murphy admitted about what she enjoyed about Mental Elegance.
“The activities are really fun too- that’s something” Ruiz added.
Murphy’s favorite events were the venting sessions and Ruiz favored the free-topic presentations they made.
Mental Elegance Club was founded in the 2023-2024 school year by senior Madison Jablonski and Cerrillos.
“Honestly it came from the fact that we didn’t have any classes together and we wanted to do something outside of school that we could do together,” Cerrillos explained. “We wanted to bring that fun friendship bond-building experience to our campus for people who can’t go out with friends.”
“I wanted to help Danica to create this with her college applications…. I know she had a lot of work to do,” Jablonski added. “I’m more creative with people around me so having that club with all those different voices and different ideas can help me be more creative.”
Mental Elegance Club holds special seasonal events, such as Cupid’s Workshop for Valentine’s day or Brownies and Beads for homecoming, typically for a $5 entry fee.
