Guest blogger Abeer Yusuf (pictured above) is a radio producer, scholar and member of the 2017 RADIUS Fellows (to name just a few titles). She will be one of the 22 changemakers presenting their “asks” at RADIUS’ signature concAUCTION event on May 16th – get your tickets now!
It has become such that now there’s an internal sign in my head that says: TGIT – Thank God It’s Tuesday.
I cannot wait to leave work and my home to turn up, say hello to all my friends, grab a glass of water and sink into some serious learning.
Unfortunately this also means I cannot pee for three hours on Tuesday evenings.
I am so in awe of everything everyone has to say, so excited to see how the other 22 minds in the room run – that I am afraid to leave the room for even 2 minutes lest I miss a really important point that someone makes during a session on mindfulness, or lose out on a great book recommendation or a snippet of an interesting conversation on decolonising travel (thanks Erin!).
Our group is a varied bunch – and each person, from the worlds they are connected to, brings something totally different to the circle we congregate in. I have really come to admire what each person has to say, what perspectives people contribute, and also just the learning I get to be a part of because of an insightful question a peer asks.
I really enjoy the small traditions that are evolving and developing. I make it a point to have an early dinner with someone different each Tuesday before our session begins; Randall, Lana and I engage in debriefs while walking back to the Skytrains on our respective ways home – which I know others in the group do too.
I am learning more and more about what people do, the value of checking with your heart and not just stopping at your head and the importance of different perspectives in solution-thinking.
Thanks to my growing RADIUS community and the friendships I’m developing, I feel a little more validated in my daily battles, I feel a little more at ease knowing that there are honest, genuine humans like me who are also up against similar challenges and issues, I feel a little more happy that I can take away pieces of knowledge and learnings from others and I feel completely overwhelmed at one of the best things to happen to me in a little while – RADIUS.
So what if I have to hold my bladder from 6-9pm on Tuesday evenings?
All images by Byron Dauncey.