The Story Continues

Hello again! Once I returned to Belfast from my holiday travels, I eased back into my packed weekly routine while desperately trying to reset my jet-lagged sleep schedule. Last week, we had less workshops than usual, so work was very chill. Our Wednesday workshop was a highlight, because it was our fourth workshop with one of the classes we’ve been working with in our residency program. We adapted the workshop slightly to build on skills they have been strengthening throughout the program. For example, in a typical workshop, we verbally brainstorm character ideas and traits as a class. In this workshop, we gave them clipboards and encouraged them to write down their ideas individually before sharing with the class. Between our first workshop with the class and this one, there was a clear difference in the way they interact with each other, with us, and with the creative process. They have a new confidence in their abilities, speaking with boldness and excitement about their ideas and plans. A spirit of collaboration pervades the classroom, and while they are all passionate about their own ideas, they have developed their ability to listen to and build on each other’s suggestions. Even children whose ideas were not chosen for the collective story were eager to get involved with writing it. Fighting Words’s methodology focuses on valuing, respecting, encouraging, and empowering young writers; its efficacy is evident in what I have witnessed in these students. They have been taken seriously, celebrated, and nurtured creatively, and this has transformed their perception of writing and reading. They are excited to write and exchange ideas with their classmates. Storytelling is a fun creative outlet, not a drag or an obligation. I hope that this understanding will extend into the rest of their education and lives, because we sure need more passionate writers in this world. 

I’m still discovering new parts of Belfast all the time, but I’m also getting to a point of familiarity where I’m becoming a regular at my favorite spots. I went back to Cave Hill, where I hiked and experienced the sublime in my first weeks in Belfast. This time, it was snowy and majestic. Through divine luck, it was also sunny, so I got to see the city and water of Belfast sparkling in the afternoon light from my vantage point on McArt’s Fort. The visit was a poignant reminder of the passage of time– I reflected on the newness and apprehension I felt when I hiked there in October, and compared it to the comfort and sureness that I felt in January. The natural landscape’s transformation from verdant green to soft white parallelled the changes I felt in myself. It was a celebration of the different kinds of beauty and vibrancy life can hold. The green newness is still within me, but a swirl of snowy familiarity is in there too. I’m proud of how I’ve changed, and eagerly anticipating what the next season will bring. I hold tenderness for my past self and hope for my future self.