Thankfulness, as told by Weaver

I was taught all through my pre-university education that on the inside all people are equal.  The quintessential poster at my elementary school contained a black child, an Asian child, a Latino child, and a white child.  All together, all equal, all smiling.  In high school these images morphed to include different ways of dressing, suggestions one of the people depicted was gay, and a variety of body types.  Again, they screamed, “We are all the same.”  This is a hopeful and idealistic message for youth, at best.  At worst, it damages society by preparing those encultured with this idea of sameness to struggle to understand the difficulties faced by people with different realities.  If we are all the same, all equal, what are they, that other group or demographic, complaining about?  The answer lies in that initial assumption.  People are not all the same and do not all share the same privileges.  We come from different geographic, mental, emotional, and family backgrounds.  

My reality is not that of my teammates, however similar.  Fugue was the first organization I stumbled upon that embraced the differences of its members to create a strong organism.  Those of you who are on or connected to Fugue know that what I am referring to is the Clown Tent philosophy.  I won’t go into details of Clown Tent but to say that it champions the uniqueness of each individual and the importance of loving and accepting our teammates as they are.  My teammates and I have received the gift of a safe and supportive space to learn about our identities, discover priorities and passions, and change without stagnant preconceived notions of ourselves holding us back.  

Fugue 2014. A gift, indeed.

Fugue is not perfect.  There are implicit social pressures within the team, within any social organism, for people to participate in certain activities or fashion trends or ideologies.  What sets Fugue apart is that Fuguers are respected, accepted, and loved regardless of whether we choose to follow or resist a trend.  And this is the greatest gift I have received from Fugue.

-Lillian Weaver