Does anyone have any experiences of unionizing social workers that you would feel comfortable sharing?
I would love to hear any inspiring stories!
I’m curious about any theatre meet ups or groups… like a book club but for theatre?
I personally see a lot of local theatre and take my friends out on play dates. But, these are people who are into theatre causally … I’m interested in connecting with folks who are a bit more intentional about seeing theatre like I am! Who are down to see multiple shows, and maybe even discuss themes across plays staged in Toronto.
Does anything like that exist?
Hi everyone!
I am curious about the experiences of people who are gifted and come from immigrant and/or working class and/or communities of colour? I wanted to share my experiences and curious if anyone relates and has thoughts about giftedness and intersectionality.
As a young child, I was identified as gifted and recommended for programming; however, the label never resonated with me or my larger community. At the time, my parents were still pretty new to the country. They came as refugees from a country with a lot of political instability.
I didn’t want to leave my friends and go to a new school in a ‘white’ neighbourhood so I declined the schooling that was recommended. My parents were okay with that and while they were loving, they honestly didn’t have the extra resources to navigate school stuff.
Others did pick up that I was different and called me ‘smart,’ ‘intense,’ and ‘sensitive,’ which I resented. Growing up, I learned to purposely underperform from my normal baseline and hide how I think because I didn’t want to be seen as “too much” by others. However, this has led to me getting bored easily due to under-stimulation. It makes me feel inauthentic because I have to conceal myself, which causes me to emotionally burnout. Often times, this would lead to an ‘explosion’ of some sort, whether it was in friendships, relationships, or work.
As an adult, I’ve always had issues at work because I wanted to innovate things. I think this is because I am looking for an outlet for how my brain works. However, because of masking, the realities of labour market discrimination, and my own internalized racism, I have never pursued formal roles that would provide the stimulation I desire and always worked in a frontline capacity. This dynamic often leads to friction, which either burns me out overtime or causes an ‘explosion.’ Lately, I’ve been trying to channel my energy into non-work stuff as I’ve been burned pretty badly.
Sometimes, whether it is work or in my personal life, I do find people who join in on my ‘projects’ and I find it very satisfying!
Today, I still don’t really like the term ‘gifted’ and I think it’s because of its association with whiteness and a specific social class that does not reflect my upbringing. However, as an adult, ‘giftedness’ does give me language to describe my struggles, including with intense emotions, sensory stuff, and my desire to connect with learning and deep dives, which might be seen as “weird.”
At this stage in life, I am looking for a romantic partner, but I struggle to find people who I connect with in a sustainable way. Again, ‘giftedness’ gives me some language to articulate myself but I don’t fully identify with it.
Can anyone else relate? Does anyone also find validation in the term but struggle with its association with whiteness and middle-upper class backgrounds? What are some other language you might use? What are the stories of gifted people of colour and from working class backgrounds?
Does anyone know of any art classes or meet ups in Toronto? Ideally in West End or downtown! I’d love to brush up on my skills and get creative in a supportive environment .
One of my ex-friends (white male) took me (woman of colour) to try bouldering last year. They insisted that anyone could do it, including me, a beginner. They told me they liked the social and cultural aspects of climbing.
I had a lot of falls but I enjoyed my first climb so I went a second time with them. However, my second climb ended with a terrible fall. I ended up breaking my ankle and needed surgery. It really disrupted my whole life, with consequences for my work (and therefore, my income and job security), my studies, and even my housing!
I don’t blame the person for the fall but they never checked in on me during my 3 month recovery…they didn’t even think to ask how it impacted other parts of my life. Even though I am now recovered, I keep thinking about this and it makes me feel so disposable.
Is this good bouldering etiquette? I can’t help but think as it was a pretty white male environment. We don’t speak anymore due to other reasons but I feel traumatized. I want to try climbing again when I am fully recovered with different people but I wondered if anyone else felt any racial or gender social dynamics in climbing.