Two weeks ago I got to be a part of Mission 58 camp in Marshall, TX. I was hired as an MC, introducing each service, and performing stand-up one night.
BUT ALSO on Thursday 4 of us camp speakers got to teach break out sessions on topics students and leaders wanted to hear about. This was the best part of camp for me.
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking on what I want to travel with after I finish performing my TELL A GOOD STORY show. I’ve come up with this idea to talk about “black hole topics.” These are the topics and struggles we don’t want to bring up with people because we’re afraid they’ll suck the fun and energy of any conversation away. We’re afraid if we share our black hole it’ll suck away our friendships. My break out session at camp was the first time I got to speak about this.
The first half of the session was about how to be the kind of friend someone would want to share their BH topic with. The second half I addressed anyone in the room who might be dealing with something.
It was a really emotional afternoon for me. There was a Q&A at the end where students would ask questions and then just break down crying. It’s so crazy that we have no idea what the people around us are secretly dealing with.
And so crazy how much people are willing to open up about their hurts and problems when we share what we’ve gone through. Some times we just need to know we’re not the only one who has experienced the type of pain we’re going through. Some times that’s all we need before we’re willing to open up.
I really like the name. I like calling them “black hole topics” but I also see a problem with it. A few times during my session it sounded like I was talking about a butt. I said “what if someone shows you their black hole” and when I heard myself say it I tried really hard not to laugh.