Hullo! I wrote some of this assignment on Thursday and the rest on Monday. I wanted to give the reflection and results as much time as possible. I say results because I tried to not just say where I belong, but carve out a new place or two for myself. I’m proud to say that I have. The art component of the assignment is a little weak, I will admit (unless you consider wielding one’s life an art). I certainly wish I took more photos. But we carry on! Have fun.
I found that answering this question was quite difficult. If you couldn’t tell by the submission time, now you know. Part of this difficulty was actually finding those places. The nice thing about this assignment, though, is that I was conscious of looking for them. Be it spending more time with my friends or participating in the U of R High School Honour Band, I grew in the confidence that I do have places where I belong that aren’t home or at school.
The remarkably thing is I still don’t know where I’m going. I suppose it never clicked in my brain that “belonging” is a very present-tense word. I could still go towards music, teaching, science, maybe even writing or filmmaking. Even without that certainty, I was able to find a place for myself.
If there is one thing I regret, it’s the lack of pictures I took at honour band and with friends. These things did happen, contrary to the popular Runnalls belief that if it was never mentioned in the scrapbook or other photos it never existed in the first place. I met a few cool folks at the honour band, and was invited to join the South Saskatchewan Youth Orchestra by their lead flutist because “I sound better than the bassoonist in the university student band.” High praise, coming from the absolute prodigey that is Nino Ding.
Further, I feel like I belong in a wild place. It’s more of a yearning, though. Specifically for a day-long hike in the mountains alone, but cold morning walks suffice. This tends to manifest itself in my writing, where trees end up as the starting prompts.
Alright, lets conclude this thing ’cause I have sleep to get to! I have to say, I’m thankful this assignment existed even in my busy as all balls life. I came out of this month with more than one places I belong, which was a spectacular improvement. I also have a bit more confidence in myself to exist well, no matter what I do.
