Challenge
Wow: My immediate reaction when asked to reflect upon this trip–such an incredible experience. It’s become so challenging for me to verbalize what this trip has meant to me. I remember, before leaving, hearing last year’s folks talk so highly of the experience but thinking ‘I don’t get it.’ That’s now everyone’s perception around me. I speak of the beauty of San Franciscan neighborhoods, the acceptance of all types of people during San Francisco pride, the breath-taking hikes and parks throughout the city and into the hills, and the privilege I feel to have seen and experienced so much in just two short weeks. Most people don’t understand.
Aside from my awe, one way I would describe the experience is challenging–but in a much less disheartening light than it may seem. Challenging; in the best way. From the first meeting with this cohort, my thoughts, ideas, and perceptions of queer culture, queer film, and queerness in general, have been challenged. Throughout my time in California, I felt challenged continuously, in an empowering way–if there is such a thing. I pushed myself into challenging situations and conversations or interactions that made me question my understanding and knowledge of the world. That is, in the end, the whole purpose of an immersion like this. You are forced to challenge your status quo and understanding of the world around you, and that’s exactly what happened to me within these two weeks.
I gained so much from the trip, the folks I met, the conversations I had, the films I saw, and even the incredible people that joined me on this journey within this cohort. I became comfortable being uncomfortable, because I knew that it meant I was pursuing growth, newfound knowledge, or understanding in a direction I hadn’t before.
These valuable challenges slowly drifted as we prepared to come home and I became concerned. Concerned that a new, but different, less enjoyable challenge might arise when we got back to Wisconsin and left the new places, people, and perspectives of San Francisco behind.
Although there were certainly some adjustments arriving back home, I shifted my perspective to now task a challenge within myself. Because I was lucky enough to experience this trip and continuously challenge myself, I am going to push myself, continue challenging myself, and find empowering and meaningful ways to challenge those around me. I cannot wait to begin having difficult conversations about our films, but also encouraging folks that come to see films during Q-fest to also challenge themselves with some of these new, unheard perspectives that are not always easy to digest. It has become my job and the job of this group to bring back the joy, the curiosity, the hope, the challenges, the acceptance, and the love that we felt and experienced in San Francisco to Eau Claire. We will make our film festival just as special for others as Frameline was for us. Art is beautiful, film is beautiful, and queerness certainly is beautiful. I cannot wait to share this with our community and create a space for queer students to feel celebrated
