This Is Beautiful: Teaching

 I started teaching this week and I think I really like it! It isn't so different from running a rehearsal really, you still have to get the students to do a thing and understand the thing. And the effort that they put into it really impacts what comes out of it, more so than what I'm doing. It's really cool, and while I'm sure I still have a lot to learn I'm really enjoying it!

Chicago

Finally made it down to Chicago this past weekend! It was a really fun trip, I can’t believe I haven’t managed to check it out yet. We took the train down and had a hard time finding somewhere to stay, but eventually snagged an AirBnB on the south side by the University of Chicago. That meant that we had to take a train into the city and back out, but there was barely anywhere else we could go without spending a lot of money.

The first day we stayed down by the University of Chicago and checked out the Museum of Science and Industry. I really enjoyed it, science museums are always overrun with screaming children and this was no exception. But they had a whole exhibit dedicated to genetics and I can’t say no to that. There also was a really cool miniature train set simulating how cargo gets from Chicago to Seattle. There were a lot of miniatures in general, like a miniature circus and a fairy castle, neither of which I could figure out why they were there otherwise. We also walked over to Promontory Point, which had some amazing views of the city and the museum. I had wanted to check out the Renaissance Society, a small art gallery that’s part of the school, but it unfortunately was closed.

The next day we took the train to the center of Chicago to do all those touristy things. Like getting a picture with the bean (formally known as Cloudgate)! We also went to the Art Institute of Chicago which was probably my favorite part of the trip. They have an amazing collection! I particularly loved the impressionist section and the contemporary galleries. There was also a really cute miniatures wing here (more miniatures???) with all sorts of different architecture styles in it. After that we went across the street to the Chicago Cultural Center to get a taste of more local art. It was definitely a good idea to get the feel for both sides: famous and local art. Then we walked along the Riverfront to the Navy Pier, which had more great views of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. Last museum of the day was Intuit: the Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art. It’s a small gallery but has a neat collection of self-taught artists primarily. Around the corner from there is Time Out Market which had a milkshake bar that was really delightful.

For the final day I wanted to check out the Jane Addams’ Hull House and the National Museum of Mexican Art, but they were both closed. So instead we went to the Aquarium! They had a pool where you can pet the sting rays and a lot of really cool exhibits about local waters and fish. Plus belugas, dolphins, and penguins are always a hit. From there we went to Chinatown for lunch and to walk around a little before leaving.

Chicago is interesting, it’s very similar to New York City in it’s layout with the numbered streets. But I would honestly say that the infrastructure of NYC is better, we mostly only took the Chicago subway on the last day in town. Chicago does feel more integrated though, there’s less cultural enclaves which is really nice. Chicago is patchwork in it’s own way, the only subway line that goes south is the red line and that clearly cuts off communities from downtown, but you get much more of a mix in the majority of it.

There’s just so much to do in Chicago, so many museums and fun activities. I really want to come back soon to check it out, and to check out some of the music scene there. I still feel like I didn’t quite get a handle on the pulse that Chicago runs on, possibly because it’s so big and contains so much. I hope I’ll be back there soon!

This Is Beautiful: Reading Time

 I just got back from vacation and what was really nice about that break, and what's been sticking with me about it, is how much time I had to just sit and read. I rarely have time to do this during the school year so having the free time to do this is really nice. I also think that because of school I tend to feel like I need to do something all of the time that's going towards a specific goal. So when I sit and read I feel really antsy and anxious. Going on vacation tends to lessen that. 

The two weeks that I had off let me read a lot of material, so keep an eye out for that in future posts! :)

“The Curse of the Black Cat” by Lou Wilham

I got this book for free online and it was a cute quick read. It’s about a prince who’s gay and doesn’t want to be, he begs a witch to turn him straight and the witch instead turns him into a cat until he can love himself. He lives an immortal life as a cat until he’s in modern-day New York City and gets adopted by a gay chef. Upon seeing his owner getting his heart broken by some shitty guy, he enters into another deal with the witch to turn into a human for a few hours a day to woo his chef. And through that he learns to love himself and isn’t a cat anymore. Yay!

So it’s a short story, and there isn’t a ton there to dissect. But definitely worth it to be able to read on the train. I’m not a huge fan of stories where being in a relationship saves someone, especially when it comes to queerness since hey aromantic people exist. But this story was honestly so short that I don’t think it’s worth it to criticize it on that front.

That statement might tell you all you need to know about how I feel about this story, haha. It’s short and fine, nothing to super write home about. But nice to pass the time.

This Is Beautiful: The Owl House

 Over vacation I caught up with the end of season 2 of "The Owl House" and it just makes me SO MAD how good this show is and the fact that Disney gave it the axe. I think they're about halfway through their planned plotline and they only get 3 more episodes to finish it up. Ugh!

The show is so so good, all of the characters are incredible and the story is intriguing. I love that all of the characters are fully developed and fully fleshed, and every detail matters. Partially because the show is super serialized too, but still. Also the world is incredibly intriguing and so vibrant and colorful. It really is a work of art, you can tell how much love the creators put into making it.

I'm not going to go into detail since I don't want to spoil things, but it's a very good show and I hope Disney learns to regret the decision to end it early because we need more shows like this in the world.

Vacation!

 Just a heads up that I'll be on vacation for the next 2 weeks! Woo! 

Regularly scheduled posting will be back week of the 22nd.

This is Beautiful: Heartstopper

 I'm very late to this party but I started "Heartstopper" on Netflix and it is so wonderful and lovely to watch. This is a tv show based off of a comic by Alice Oseman, who I've talked about before in this post on her book Loveless. Oseman is an aroace writer and creator, and she clearly brings her love of the queer community to this creation as well.

"Heartstopper" tells the story of Charlie, a young boy in high school (his 15th birthday party is part of the show, this guy is young) who has recently come out as gay. He's in an obviously unhealthy relationship with another boy at his school who wants to keep their relationship a secret and pretends that he doesn't know Charlie if he sees him in the hallway. Charlie then meets Nick, a boy a year older than him, but he quickly develops a crush on Nick. 

Mild spoilers for "Heartstopper": eventually Charlie ends his relationship with that abusive guy, and he and Nick end up kissing at a party. Nick didn't realize that he was gay and he starts going through a gay crisis. He also asks Charlie if they could keep their relationship a secret while he works through this. And that's as far as I've gotten so far haha.

What's really nice about the show is the parallels and differences between Charlie's two relationships. Because Nick so clearly cares deeply about Charlie, and hates what he's doing to him by keeping their relationship secret. I bet that they'll stop keeping it a secret by the end of the show, but it's getting at a really nice message that I wish more media got at which is that it is ok to be in the closet. You don't have to come out if you don't want to. Sure it'll have repercussions on those you're in a relationship with, but no one should force you to come out if you aren't ready.

And Nick in general is just such a good guy. He panics and agrees to go on a date with one of his female friends, and Charlie's friend overhears and tells Charlie to stop hanging out with Nick. Nick overhears the warning and instead of trying to say anything to Charlie to turn him away from his friend, or denying it, Nick just gives him a hug and tries to comfort him. Charlie's friend confronts Nick a while later and Nick doesn't deny it then either. He's just such a good guy and wants to be a good friend/partner. 

This is a super cute show to watch and it's so refreshing that a queer relationship is portrayed so positively. I want to go back and read the comics now as well! I'm also looking forward to season 2, which Oseman has said will contain ace representation. I bet it'll be great to watch as an ace myself.