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Betcha can't...
Jan. 28th, 2020 12:17 pmIt’s no secret that I throw out a lot of challenges in the SCA and have (perhaps too many) irons in many different fires. But I can’t help it. Even after all this time, I’m excited about this game, and love its ability to teach me things on a regular basis. When I look back at my own formative years in the SCA, challenge is what pushed me probably more than anything. Knowing that with each event, I should try to push myself to make some new item, or learn some new thing increased my own understanding of history, and also made me feel more like a part of the club. And that is something I continue to this day – pushing myself and challenging myself to experiment, to potentially fail, but always (hopefully) to learn.
But I realize that, to some people, I might come across as pushing too much. And that is something I’d like to talk about for a moment.
I try my darnedest to communicate my intentions clearly. But let’s face it – I really have no power over how someone else will interpret my communication, or how it will make that person feel. While my intent is always, always, ALWAYS to be happy with where you are today, and to challenge you to go further, I’m sure that at some point in time, I have inadvertently stepped on some toes and made someone feel like I was being overly critical, or unappreciative of where they are. And while I can’t step into the way-back machine and fix that exchange, all I can say is this –
I’m sorry. I truly and sincerely apologize.
It has never, ever, ever, ever been my intent to make ANYBODY ever feel like they don’t belong, or that what they are doing is not valued. Rather, my intent is to communicate a message of positivity – keep going! Enjoy your passion! Push yourself further! Go to the next level! Dive further into the history! Ask yourself why they did it this way! Ask yourself how THEY would have done it. And no matter who you are, or at what level you are at today, please don’t slide back – always, always, always go further.
Now personally, I would love it if everyone in the SCA because a true “Renaissance wo/man”. No, I don’t mean that as in everybody should be 15th century Italian (although I can dream!) Rather, I like to encourage everybody to work towards being well-rounded in their pursuits. What do I mean by that? I mean to not only develop a persona that could very well have existed in a particular point in time, but to effectively BECOME that persona – wear the appropriate clothing, know and practice the fun pastimes of that persona, cook and eat the foods of that persona, know the history and the politics of that persona, learn the trade of that persona, etc.
Now, I know that not everyone plays SCA the way that I do, and not everyone is interested in doing all the things based around a persona. I still encourage it as a goal, but recognize that not everyone wants to do that. But even then, when I see a person really hone in and obsess on that one thing that they really, really, really want to do; I’m still going to push. Celebrate where you are today. REALLY celebrate your victories (whether on the field, or in some other sort of a breakthrough). But after you have finished celebrating, keep going. Push yourself. Continue in your enthusiasm. And if you can bring others along with you on your journey, wonderful.
The SCA has given me time, teaching, and opportunity to learn many skills: costuming, embroidery, dance, cooking, poetry and early literature, metal casting, enamels, calligraphy, illumination, ceramics, and silver-smithing. Guess how many of these things I was able to do before the SCA? If you guessed anything higher than a “Zero”, you would be dead wrong. And the reason I know what I know is because somebody pushed me.
Many of my skills and abilities that I have today (which can and are used in real life), I would probably have never gotten to learn had it not been for the SCA. And for that, I am eternally grateful.
So if you are one of those people whom I have inadvertently offended by thinking that I was criticizing your work, I really do apologize. But please understand – when I push, it isn’t because I think that you CAN’T. It is because I am confident that you CAN, that you WILL, and that you will go further than you ever thought possible. And when you do, we ALL benefit!
So yes, I will keep pushing. I will push myself, and I will push you.
And I cannot wait to see what you do next!
But I realize that, to some people, I might come across as pushing too much. And that is something I’d like to talk about for a moment.
I try my darnedest to communicate my intentions clearly. But let’s face it – I really have no power over how someone else will interpret my communication, or how it will make that person feel. While my intent is always, always, ALWAYS to be happy with where you are today, and to challenge you to go further, I’m sure that at some point in time, I have inadvertently stepped on some toes and made someone feel like I was being overly critical, or unappreciative of where they are. And while I can’t step into the way-back machine and fix that exchange, all I can say is this –
I’m sorry. I truly and sincerely apologize.
It has never, ever, ever, ever been my intent to make ANYBODY ever feel like they don’t belong, or that what they are doing is not valued. Rather, my intent is to communicate a message of positivity – keep going! Enjoy your passion! Push yourself further! Go to the next level! Dive further into the history! Ask yourself why they did it this way! Ask yourself how THEY would have done it. And no matter who you are, or at what level you are at today, please don’t slide back – always, always, always go further.
Now personally, I would love it if everyone in the SCA because a true “Renaissance wo/man”. No, I don’t mean that as in everybody should be 15th century Italian (although I can dream!) Rather, I like to encourage everybody to work towards being well-rounded in their pursuits. What do I mean by that? I mean to not only develop a persona that could very well have existed in a particular point in time, but to effectively BECOME that persona – wear the appropriate clothing, know and practice the fun pastimes of that persona, cook and eat the foods of that persona, know the history and the politics of that persona, learn the trade of that persona, etc.
Now, I know that not everyone plays SCA the way that I do, and not everyone is interested in doing all the things based around a persona. I still encourage it as a goal, but recognize that not everyone wants to do that. But even then, when I see a person really hone in and obsess on that one thing that they really, really, really want to do; I’m still going to push. Celebrate where you are today. REALLY celebrate your victories (whether on the field, or in some other sort of a breakthrough). But after you have finished celebrating, keep going. Push yourself. Continue in your enthusiasm. And if you can bring others along with you on your journey, wonderful.
The SCA has given me time, teaching, and opportunity to learn many skills: costuming, embroidery, dance, cooking, poetry and early literature, metal casting, enamels, calligraphy, illumination, ceramics, and silver-smithing. Guess how many of these things I was able to do before the SCA? If you guessed anything higher than a “Zero”, you would be dead wrong. And the reason I know what I know is because somebody pushed me.
Many of my skills and abilities that I have today (which can and are used in real life), I would probably have never gotten to learn had it not been for the SCA. And for that, I am eternally grateful.
So if you are one of those people whom I have inadvertently offended by thinking that I was criticizing your work, I really do apologize. But please understand – when I push, it isn’t because I think that you CAN’T. It is because I am confident that you CAN, that you WILL, and that you will go further than you ever thought possible. And when you do, we ALL benefit!
So yes, I will keep pushing. I will push myself, and I will push you.
And I cannot wait to see what you do next!
