Showing posts with label Matt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matt. Show all posts
Sunday, April 24
Saturday, April 23
Walking with Matt
Matt is our youngest retreatant. As such, his take on the difficulties of being homeless are different that others. The physical aspect isn't his chief concern. His main worry:
Boredom.
He generally finds the waiting for things to happen maddening and suggests that it is the lack of stimulation that would get to him first. He also cites unreliable access to food and uncertainty about sleeping arrangements as hard to deal with.
The lesson here? There are various types of fitness, and as such, the trials of deprivation play out differently. Matt crafts his particular story about homelessness because of his embodied immunity to particular discomforts. At his age, his body is made out of rubber bands shot full of adrenaline. The down side of his metabolic fervor is an increased need for lots of food and an impatience that makes him more susceptible to parts of the mental game.
Point is, we all wear down differently. There isn't a universal story to homelessness. There isn't a single way it sucks. Some of us are harder to wear, some are harder to tear, but it gets to everyone eventually.
Boredom.
He generally finds the waiting for things to happen maddening and suggests that it is the lack of stimulation that would get to him first. He also cites unreliable access to food and uncertainty about sleeping arrangements as hard to deal with.
The lesson here? There are various types of fitness, and as such, the trials of deprivation play out differently. Matt crafts his particular story about homelessness because of his embodied immunity to particular discomforts. At his age, his body is made out of rubber bands shot full of adrenaline. The down side of his metabolic fervor is an increased need for lots of food and an impatience that makes him more susceptible to parts of the mental game.
Point is, we all wear down differently. There isn't a universal story to homelessness. There isn't a single way it sucks. Some of us are harder to wear, some are harder to tear, but it gets to everyone eventually.
Friday, April 22
Beginning Interviews
Let's a few of the characters introduced.
Michael
Dear friend. Michael and I know each other well from the "outside" world. He has only a handful of experiences with Stand Up, mostly within the last few weeks. I, however, am quite happy to have him along. He is funny, kind, and pretty much always a good sport. Also un-humiliatable, which is a priceless resource to a retreat leader.
Gabe
Think John Muir, but instead of camping in Yosemite; homeless in Phoenix. While Muir wrote wilderness journals, Gabe writes fantasy novels. Ok, he really isn't that much like John Muir, except Gabe once walked the 40 miles from Apache Junction to Phoenix in the middle of the summer in a day and a half. Gabe is one of our guides this weekend.
Dustin (DK)
DK is one of our two caretakers. He watches over the Youth House and keeps it clean, and in return he gets to stay there. Perhaps more importantly, he watches over the volunteers and the youth alike. Fortunately for us, his weekend college class got over last week, which allowed him to come and share his insight with us.
Matt
The youngest member of our retreat. Matt got very excited about the weekend back in August when we first started brainstorming. He is finishing up his senior year in high school and is uncertain about his future as his family plans to move this summer. Matt (and Michael) are the two members of the Pepperspray Guard.
Melissa
Undergraduate critical ethnographer. Melissa is taking a qualitative research class in the Communication department at ASU, and had everything all lined up until her research site turned her away. A few weeks ago, I get a well written email explaining her need to get 20 hours of observation before the end of the semester. I tell her that a 45-hour retreat is a lovely way to rack up the research hours.
Michael
Dear friend. Michael and I know each other well from the "outside" world. He has only a handful of experiences with Stand Up, mostly within the last few weeks. I, however, am quite happy to have him along. He is funny, kind, and pretty much always a good sport. Also un-humiliatable, which is a priceless resource to a retreat leader.
Gabe
Think John Muir, but instead of camping in Yosemite; homeless in Phoenix. While Muir wrote wilderness journals, Gabe writes fantasy novels. Ok, he really isn't that much like John Muir, except Gabe once walked the 40 miles from Apache Junction to Phoenix in the middle of the summer in a day and a half. Gabe is one of our guides this weekend.
Dustin (DK)
DK is one of our two caretakers. He watches over the Youth House and keeps it clean, and in return he gets to stay there. Perhaps more importantly, he watches over the volunteers and the youth alike. Fortunately for us, his weekend college class got over last week, which allowed him to come and share his insight with us.
Matt
The youngest member of our retreat. Matt got very excited about the weekend back in August when we first started brainstorming. He is finishing up his senior year in high school and is uncertain about his future as his family plans to move this summer. Matt (and Michael) are the two members of the Pepperspray Guard.
Melissa
Undergraduate critical ethnographer. Melissa is taking a qualitative research class in the Communication department at ASU, and had everything all lined up until her research site turned her away. A few weeks ago, I get a well written email explaining her need to get 20 hours of observation before the end of the semester. I tell her that a 45-hour retreat is a lovely way to rack up the research hours.
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