Five things.

[nanila]

• The following exchange took place in our household recently.
  
  Him, born & raised British: "It's chilly in here. Shall I put the heating on?"
  Me, born & raised in Hawai'i: "No, it's June. Put another jumper on."
  
  I still can't quite believe that this actually happened.



• I finally posted out letters to all the people who won at the Geography Pub Quiz in April (DW/LJ). I think this sets a record for the longest it's taken me to fulfill a promise for post. My apologies.



• All the extra Dreamwidth points I purchased have been distributed to nominated recipients (and a couple of others). Thank you to those who participated in the nominations.



• Passenger and I recently passed the twenty-week mark together so we are now more than halfway through the pregnancy. I honoured this landmark by listening to this on repeat for a day or so. "Ohhhh we're halfway there/WHAAHOOH livin' on a prayer/Take my hand, we'll make it I swear/WHAAHOOH livin' on a prayer." THE HAIR. \m/ \m/
  
  
  
  [YouTube video of Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer", 04:09]



• I ran a small, last-minute, poorly organised outreach event at a school in Woodford (east London) today. There were only ten* students in attendance. I was told there were going to be thirty.
  
  Normally this would make me rather angry, as it was pretty far out of my way and took up half a day of work. Not today.
  
  As soon as I walked in the room, I saw the girl sitting in the front row turn expectantly toward the door. She fastened her eyes to my face and they strayed for scarcely a moment for the hour and ten minutes I was there. Nearly every question I posed was answered by her. Correctly. No sooner did I ask it than all the other students in the room - boys and girls alike - turned toward her to see if she would speak. I tried to share my attention equally out among the students, but it was quite clear she was the star of the set. And I could see this written on her face throughout: I am going to be her when I grow up. I desperately wanted to tell her, You already are, and you will surpass me.
  
  It was worth being there just for her sake.
  
  (Did I mention that she was stunningly pretty? I bet all the boys are terrified of her.)
  
  Only two of the ten students were white. And half of them were girls. This also helped make it worth while.

Comments

[weaverbird]

#1 made me chuckle. The world is upside down!

And then #5 made me a little sniffly. Worth while indeed.

[miss_s_b]

#5 is the best thing I have read all day. Thank you.

[ironed_orchid]

Aw! I love outreach stories like this.

[crystalpyramid]

Seconded on both counts. Five was kind of teary-eyed beautiful.

[sunflowerinrain]

Marvellous story. I wonder if one day she will $Future_comms_method you to say she went to your talk, and look what she's doing now.

And happy halfwaythroughday :)

[foxfinial]

Thank you for the DW points! Now to find out what I can do with them. :D

As soon as I walked in the room, I saw the girl sitting in the front row turn expectantly toward the door. She fastened her eyes to my face and they strayed for scarcely a moment for the hour and ten minutes I was there. Nearly every question I posed was answered by her. Correctly. No sooner did I ask it than all the other students in the room - boys and girls alike - turned toward her to see if she would speak. I tried to share my attention equally out among the students, but it was quite clear she was the star of the set. And I could see this written on her face throughout: I am going to be her when I grow up. I desperately wanted to tell her, You already are, and you will surpass me.

Am teary. <3

[dandelion_salad]

I love thinking about that little girl and what it must have meant to her to see you up there!

[nanila]

Re #1: It's not right, not right at all. I spent my first three year here, from October until April, swathed in an enormous parka.

Re #5: I hope it bolstered her confidence. It seemed she was already committed to doing a science degree, so I hope it helps carry her through!

[nanila]

I still remember the first time this happened to me when I was giving an outreach talk, back in 2008. It made me feel quite nervous, but I now recognise that it's as my friend Terry said, "[S]ometimes, you're in the right place at the right time to give someone tacit permission to be what they want to be by being who you are."

[nanila]

You're welcome! It's one of those memories that will propel me through dull times for months to come.

[nanila]

Yes. This is why I keep doing it. You don't get moments like it every time, and some outreach events are downright depressing, but they happen with sufficient frequency to convince me that it's worth it.

[nanila]

That would be great, but it's a bit like teaching, where you very rarely get to witness the moment when a student understands something fully. Just having been there at a moment when my example was clearly key for her is enough to keep me going for a few months!

[nanila]

You're welcome! I think two months of paid time is an option...

I'm so glad I got to be there at a point in her life where it seems that that was important.

[nanila]

Oh, I hope the memory helps carry her confidence through as she begins to make choices about university.

Certainly it will carry me through the dull moments over the next few months!

[xylie]

That is a truly awesome outreach story. Best of luck to her. I hope she makes to her dreams despite the deplorable organizational skills of her school. Sounds like she has plans to succeed in any event and a fairly decent role model. ;)

How goes the pregnancy hair growth? Are you getting a chance to enjoy the luxuriant 80s rock star hair effect?

[crystalpyramid]

<3

[lark_ascends]

*giggles at 1*

*fists up in the air for 4*

*sighs happily at 5*

[nanila]

I hope she applies to Imperial. I gave a gentle plug for us at the end of my talk, but didn't want to push it too much as I didn't want it to appear that that was the only reason I was there.

I do have very big hair at the moment. Am in desperate need of a haircut but thus far haven't had the time!

[nanila]

Hee. Must remember that there is a lot of positive stuff going on in my life, well apart from the house-selling/buying gubbins!

[pulchritude]

Oh, that girl sounds delightful!

[nanila]

She was. I can only hope we see her face around Imperial in the next year or two!