Hello again! The last two weeks have zipped past, and I honestly can’t believe it’s already time to write another update. Life has been beautifully full and chaotic, so I’m going to update you categorically, instead of chronologically.  

     First, a work update! I am still loving my work at Fighting Words, and I learn lots every day. Last week, I attended a networking event that was arranged for arts organizations to connect with businesses and corporations to discuss possible partnerships. It was great to meet some other people doing arts work in Belfast and to learn how to summarize the work we do at FWNI in a succinct and engaging way. I also got to help out with my first Write Club meeting. Write Club is a space for young writers ages 12-18 to write together, share ideas, and get feedback from the club mentors and their peers. My role was to open the workshop with a writing prompt and to give feedback on the students’ work at the end of the writing time. The students shared all kinds of things: one shared a gripping chapter of a novel and another read a poem inspired by a short story she has been working on. I was in awe of their creativity and commitment to writing, as well as their support for each other. 

     I have continued to facilitate storymaking workshops, gaining new responsibilities and confidence in my roles. I started out by participating as a typist, transcribing the children’s ideas so they could see them on the screen. I also gave feedback to the students on their individual writing during the second part of the workshop. Most recently, I have begun to do character building, which is the portion of the workshop where we assist the children in brainstorming and choosing ideas for a main character and their greatest wish, greatest fear, and best friend. For each category, we develop three ideas, and for each idea, we ask questions to help them flesh it out. For example, if a child suggests that our main character could be a bear, I might ask what the bear’s name is, or whether this bear has any special powers. My aim as a character builder is to affirm the children’s ideas by helping them develop them further without imposing any suggestions or bias of my own. This is quite difficult, because I don’t want to “lead the witness”, but there are also times when the child feels stuck and needs a gentle nudge to resume their creative process. As I have practiced character building, I have begun to understand more instinctively when I should push a child to share more and when I should back off, how I can encourage them to pivot from an idea that is unoriginal or too dark without making them shut down, and what kinds of questions to ask to help an idea blossom. It’s nice to be able to mark my growth while also striving to keep improving. 

     Outside of work, I have been finding the balance between self-care/rest and exploring my new surroundings! Some notable Belfast experiences have been strolling through St. George’s Market with an old friend on a Saturday morning, trying a burrito from Boojum (Belfast’s less-good version of Chipotle), realizing just how terrifyingly much the Albert Clock leans, going on the ride at the Titanic Museum (thankfully it is not a reenactment of the sinking of the ship), poring over the gorgeous artwork in the Dockers and Dolls exhibit, and taking the History of Terror walking tour which featured personal stories from the history of The Troubles (coincidentally, there were four people from my hometown also on the tour!). As a person who is quite in love with following threads to discover origins, I am delighted to be in a city where each building and cobblestone holds centuries of stories and significance. 

     Aside from exploring Belfast, I also took a day trip to Derry. This was particularly exciting because I’m a huge fan of the show, Derry Girls. The day was a practice in spontaneity from the start– I had booked a bus tour of Northern Ireland, but I overslept and missed it. I refused to let the day go to waste, so I got ready as fast as I could and sprinted to the train station to catch the 10:30 am train to Derry. When reality diverges from my carefully laid plans, I try to find what opportunities my new path has opened up for me, instead of dwelling in disappointment about missing out on the original plan. There were so many things that made me believe I was meant to be in Derry that day; none of it was planned, yet I kept stumbling across things that meant a lot to me. I was feeling frantic on the train, but then I made friends with a girl my age who had just moved to Belfast, too. I have been looking for a nice copy of Jane Eyre (my favorite book) for a long time, and I found a beautiful copy in a charity shop for £3.50. I stopped to admire the wildflowers growing alongside a cathedral, and ended up having a lovely conversation with an 80-year-old nun named Rosemary. I decided to take a turn off the peace wall that I was walking along and stumbled across a cluster of murals. I’m a girl who loves a plan, but that day was a stark reminder of the joy that an openness to change can bring. 

     In the spirit of change and new beginnings, I box-dyed my hair last night! I’m officially ready for fall in Belfast, a place which is quickly becoming dearer to me. There have been so many moments where I have been filled with joy and belonging here, even in the newness: in an overpriced tiramisu latte on a sunny day, in the rich harmony and dissonance of the voices in my women’s choir, in the sweaty exhaustion of weekly boxing classes, in the rare, but spectacular tendrils of morning sun on my rumpled bedsheets, in the giggles and promise of future hangouts with new friends, in strawberry jam on crumpets and beans on toast, in windswept hair and seagull friends by the riverside, in the music and scents that are becoming inextricably linked to this time of my life. Each passing day brings change, and I embrace it!

Until next time,

Eleri xx