Oh, The Places You’ll Go!
As a child, I was always so curious about the world that was out there. I remember reading Dr. Seuss books as a child constantly. My Grandpa would buy them for me, and he would read them to me when I visited him. A memory I have is him reading the book, “Oh! The Places You’ll Go!”. I was about 5 years old when he first read this to me. He would tell stories about all the traveling he did in his 20’s, the states he had been to, the countries he had visited, and the people he had met. He would always tell me that traveling is something that made him feel whole; the concept of seeing/living in new environments, and getting to experience new cultures and people. I have always remembered this and have always had a love for exploring, learning, and meeting new people and hearing their experiences. So, now here I am, 20 years old, a 3rd year in college, traveling!
When I first learned about Q-Fest my freshman year I knew immediately it was something I had a deep passion for and wanted to join. I had come out in 8th grade and since then my journey about my queerness has been quite the ride. I have used a multitude of different labels at different periods, and I am still learning who I am in my queer identity every day. Since coming out, I have had a want to learn more about the queer community and so when coming to college and hearing about Q-Fest it immediately bolstered that passion and love for my community. I attended my first Q-Fest freshman year and loved learning about the amazing adventures and experiences that they were able to create, so it inspired me to want to go! So, with that being said here is what I am looking forward too!
1. MOVIES
I have a deep love and passion for films and enjoy watching anything and everything! With this being such a huge passion of mine, and it intertwining with queerness makes me extremely excited to see content that has people with similar identities that I do in films. The intersectionality of the films is what excites me the most. I feel that most main-stream movies that are put out are hetero/cis-normative, and mainly highlight monogamous relationships. I am so excited to be exposed to such new media and be able to bring it back to Eau Claire to show all of you and expand this part of the queer community with all of you!
2. Being a tourist
I know, this one may be expected but I am excited to just get to know the city! With San Franscico being one of the largest queer cities I am so excited about learning and involving myself into the culture! I can’t wait to meet the people, eat the food, shop, and create even stronger friendships with the people in the cohort!
3. Growing
I am so excited for this trip as a time to learn, grow, and reflect as a person. I feel that with any experience I have, or immersion I go on, I do my best to take that time for a lot of self-reflection. I hope that while I am in San Franscico I can learn more about who I am as a person, and even learn more about the culture of San Franscico and bring that back to my friends, family, and even my colleagues/classmates of what I have gathered from the queer culture and community there!
