The Best Coincidence of My Life
“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” ~ Oscar Wilde
Fun Fact: I wasn’t originally supposed to be on this trip. I didn’t remember when I had to apply for it, and I was so busy with my schoolwork and other life things that it simply wasn’t in the forefront of my mind. I was staying with my brother and his fiancé in Madison because I was going to a concert (3 days after I got my wisdom teeth out) and because I wanted to spend time with the both of them. I was sitting in their dining room, checking my school email, when I saw an email asking if I still had interest in the trip because there was still room. With a mixture of courage from just doing a hard and scary thing as well as traveling on my own, I said yes.
Now I’m here. And I’ve been here for almost two weeks now. While being at the tail-end of this trip, I’m reflecting on all of the time that I have spent here. I have done and experienced so many things that, at one time, I never thought I’d have the opportunity to. I toured Alcatraz, I saw the Golden Gate Bridge, I walked through the Japanese Tea Gardens and the Botanical Gardens, I went to an aquarium for the first time, I marched in the Trans March, I got to see the (technically cancelled) Dyke March, I got to go to the Pride Celebration (which was absolutely huge), I had the opportunity to meet Brian J. Smith (and his partner Matt Consalvo) who plays Will in Sense8 and Kelly Richardson who was Nomi from Sense8’s stunt double, among many other incredibly cool experiences. All of these things have been so amazing and wonderful that I almost still can’t believe that I have been so fortunate to do them.
I’ve laughed and cried many times. And cried some more. And laughed some more. And I definitely got sunburnt several times (I swear the sun here is sunscreen-resistant) but that’s alright. I need to mention the films I’ve seen here because they have been so great. Not all of the films I liked, some of them I could even say I hated, but the ones that I liked, and even loved, make up tenfold for the ones I didn’t enjoy. My top three films out of all of the ones I saw have to be My Old Ass, Young Hearts, and All Shall Be Well. All of them have different stories from one another, but they were all so incredibly impactful.
Something else I have to talk about is all of the wonderful people I have been able to live with and spend time with during this trip. Before the trip, we were friendly with one another but very few of us were properly friends. I believe that this trip has changed that significantly. Although not every single person is best friends with everyone else, we are certainly much closer overall than we were prior to being in San Francisco. We’ve helped pay for each other if someone couldn’t, some people have bought things for others while out and about because it reminded them of someone here, we’ve laughed and cried and talked about our lives with one another, and many more things that have brought us closer.
Also, the faculty that have accompanied us on this trip have been amazing. I’m glad I’ve also grown closer to and gotten to know them throughout our time here. They’re so supportive and I genuinely would not have been able to get through this trip without them (in several ways). I’m proud that I get to call myself a Blugold knowing that these wonderful people are on UWEC’s staff. They do so much for so many people and I’m so grateful for them.
“For a long time, I was afraid to be who I am, because I was taught by my parents that there’s something wrong with someone like me. Something offensive, something you would avoid, maybe even pity. Something that you could never love… I was afraid of this parade because I wanted so badly to be a part of it. So today, I’m marching for that part of me that was once too afraid to march. And for all the people who can’t march, the people living lives like I did… Today I march to remember that I’m not just a me, but I’m also a we. And we march with Pride.” ~ Nomi Marks, Sense8
