jonrog1: You can tell we’re a year into lockdown because the focus of the Leverage writing I’m doing is less smashing evil oligarchs and more five page scenes of the gang hanging out in the bar, just chilling together, talkin’ emo.
jonrog1: “Hey John, you’re a consulting producer, so we really just need you for your weird crime and oligarchy knowledge” “Here’s five pages on friendship while Parker tests drill bits.”
jonrog1: The fact I’m taking a writing break at 1:30 am may be a clue as to why I’m a bit punchy.
I had a student ask for an extension on their final paper (for good reason). They just emailed me the paper with the caveat: “I changed my topic because I couldn’t get into it. I decided to write about sex instead because I could get into that.”
And I was like. Oh boy.
Except then I read the paper and y’all.
For their final, I gave students a pool of essays they could use for a research paper about mental illness in professional sports, or they could choose their own topic, based on a personal experience, that they then researched themselves.
This kid wrote about their relationship with an asexual partner, and used articles they found about the importance of communication and consent in relationships that involve individuals with different levels of sexual interest, articles about different kinds of asexual experiences, statistics about asexual individuals and sexual assault/domestic abuse, scientific articles, the list goes on. It was basically a 2-part treatise on the validity of asexuality and the fact that asexual folks can absolutely have fulfilling relationships (if they want them) with sexual folks provided there is appropriate communication.
I was touched, y’all. A., It was well-written, appropriately formatted, etc., but B., the amount of love this student had for their partner was just. So incredibly obvious. The amount of research they’d clearly done over the years, out of a desire to educate themselves and be an advocate, was really lovely to see in someone so young.
So the world may be a bit shit right now, but please know that somewhere in the midwest, there is a pair of high school sweethearts reunited over winter break who love each other very, very much.
when kafka said “all the love in the world is useless when there is total lack of understanding” and when richard siken said “if you love me, you don’t love me in a way I understand.”
