Today is Sunday 25 September, it’s the first weekend since starting the SCA. I’m happy the future-me will have these SCABs to look back on. Week 2 starts tomorrow but until then here’s a little brain dump of the past few days:

The first week consisted of different kinds of workshops. During the poetry workshop, Deanna had us draw, list words, and write a sonnet. After the workshop, I kept thinking that it has to be true that writing makes your soul grow. I mean, I started out with the word “scrappy” and ended up writing a boastful sonnet about Tara from Planet Terra.

I’m obsessed with words so it’s usually natural for me to pick apart what I write. This year I really want to remove the judgment because it clouds my experience of writing all together. I also would like to become more comfortable writing in public. A few years ago someone told me that the best thing I could do if I wanted to write was to write in public. The eyes will make you accountable and the feedback will make you better. I never forgot it but I also never did it. These goals seem unrealistic right now but then I think about how I created a song (with my group), a GIF using Adobe (shooketh), a sonnet, a North Star, a water bottle design, and an ugly T-shirt (I’m sorry Nesu) in the space of 4 days. I choose to be proud of that and not to qualify what I made.

Marc spoke about the things we can do to stay in the present and return to gratitude, mindfulness, consistency, authenticity, curiosity, connection…So that just when we start to think it’s becoming too much, we can save ourselves and find respite in a good habit and a gratitude journal. I want to hold these things tight and keep them close.

Also, just do you and live your life. Marc spoke about the importance of knowing yourself and prioritizing the things you need. It was refreshing to hear Marc say this, so much so that for our 1st creative brief we wrote a song all about living your best life on the weekend. Another thing we were told was to just ask the questions because ignorance is our power. Except with Adobe, if you’re ignorant in Adobe (there’s nothing quite like the pit I had while making a GIF last week), Adobe will hate you.

@taratabbara4