Q-Quest, Day 2 (and my birthday)

Yesterday's middle schoolers were amazing.

I don't know that I set up the context of what Q-Quest is or how I ended up involved in it very well, so here's the whole story (partly cribbed from an email to a friend).
 

I am on a Discord that is a collection of a friend's friends. A couple of weeks ago, in one of the channels, someone was talking about needing volunteers for Q-Quest.  Q-Quest is a Saint Paul Public School event.  (https://www.spps.org/Page/3346 -- down by annual LGBTQIA+ events.)The person on the Discord said that they needed queer positive stuff for swag bags, etc., and I lamented about how I'd totally send along books, but NONE OF MY BOOKS ARE ACTUALLY QUEER.  But, the other person was like, "you could propose a workshop." And I kind of lost my mind and thought, "You know, I COULD." The commitment was only 45 minutes and so I recycled a proposal of a class I'd taught at the Loft about writing fan fiction, because fan fiction is inherently gay and inherently teen.  I kind of realized even as I hit "go" on the proposal that I had lost my mind a little and that this was going to be more work than it was worth, but then I decided I actually didn't care. How often do I volunteer for queer stuff? I was born 2 YEARS BEFORE THE STONEWALL RIOTS, I should represent old queers to the new generation and give a bit of my time and energy.

 

I actually regret nothing, despite the chaos of the first day.

 

I was required to attend a Zoom orientation for facilitators and hosts and I was given the impression in that meeting that things would be even easier for me because someone would be there to do some technical work for me: admit students and keep an eye on the chat. This volunteer host would also have the ability to kick out rowdy kids and mute anyone who had a noisy background, etc., etc,, so that I would also be relieved of "discipline" duties, as well.  Not that anyone expected trouble, but as a "just in case." and so that all that stuff would be coming from an official channel.

 

Okay, fine, except on Wednesday, the high school day, when I show up ten minutes before my presentation no one is there. There's a person who shows up to link me into the Google Meet as co-host, but there is no other host who ever shows their face. So, all of a sudden I'm also in charge of this barrage of "admits." And I do mean barrage. I was given the impression from the orientation that, last year, some workshops were only attended by a half dozen kids and in about twenty seconds I had over thirty. And this thirty only represented individual cameras? I quickly discovered that I might be being piped into a full GSA room. 

 

Immediately on Wednesday, that first day, I lost control. But, I think it was fine? As I wrote yesterday it was chaos, but they ended up self-organizing their own fannish Discord.  I hope they really did this? 

 

Yesterday was similar but less chaotic? For one, my co-host showed up.  Secondly, after yesterday, I was absolutely prepared for the kids to want to take over and I figured out how to let them do it in a much more organized fashion. The crazy thing? I had probably double the amount of student feeds. At one point, I had 50 screens up... and again, several of them with rooms full. BUT yesterday I was so Zen. It was my birthday and I thought, "Eh, they get what they paid for, which was nothing," and so I ended up directing a lovely conversation about writing and a whole ton of kids shared the most lovely writing advice I have ever heard in my LIFE. One kid wanted to know "how to do I even start?" and some people suggested playing out the dialogue out loud, in your backyard, someone else said, "Try writing with a friend." Some one else said, "Don't be afraid if it's not perfect."

It made me remember what I *like* about teaching writing to kids.

I didn't really do too much else for my birthday other than spend a lot of money on food OUT.  I got myself a fancy latte in the morning, we had takeaway ramen for lunch, and takeaway Ethiopian for dinner. (At least that last one served for two meals, as I just finished up the leftovers for lunch today.) Shawn and I watched a bunch of the British Baking Show, and I got this crazy idea to use up all of the blank journals that I've collected over the years, which is to write in a different one for each day of the week. I'm going to try, for instance to record "a year of Wednesdays." We'll see if I keep it up, but it might be fun? Particularly if I don't try to do EVERY DAY of the week.  

I also spent some birthday money on a few more postcards for myself. I have slowed down on my pandemic "world(s) tour" (a series of postcards that I've been sending friends from places and times I wish I could travel to,) but I got inspired today and sent out another set. I've prepped some follow-ups as well. If anyone reading this suddenly wishes that someone would send them a silly story postcard every so often, please let me know and I will add you to my list. For me, it's been a fun way to connect to those people who make up what I once heard referred to as your "middle circle of friends." There's the inner circle--close friends you regularly see. The extreme outer circle--your barista, cashier, pizza deliverer, etc.--the people you interact with, but only barely socially. And, this article I read (in the Atlantic?) talked about the people that most of us have really lost touch with during the pandemic is that our middle circle--the people we like and used to see very irregularly (in my case, at cons or in other SF related venues.) So, a lot of people on my postcard list are in this range, though there are a few what I've never met in meat space. 

The weather here has been cold and blowy, so it's been perfect for these kinds of things. I have a manuscript for the Loft that I should be reading, but I'm hoping to spend a lot of Thanksgiving vacation catching up with that.

Tomorrow night is gaming, so I have that to look forward to, too!