Captain’s Log. Stardate 94201.17

It’s the last day of Gishwhes, and as our team submits our final items (yeah, we finished early cos we’re awesome…and tired), I can’t help but think about the things that Gishwhes has taught me, both over this past week and over the past three years I have participated.

#1. Normality is overrated.

Year 1: You want me to put maple syrup all over my body and give someone a hug??? 

Year 2: Put on a robot suit and go to Regent’s Park? Okay. Sure.

Year 3: Hey, can I pour wine into someone’s mouth from the roof of your house?

#2. Kindness and self-value go hand-in-hand. 

Being kind makes you feel better about yourself. It’s hard to be kind if you don’t feel good about who you are. For the record, I’m not talking about niceness–you can be a nice person but not a kind person. It’s not always easy to be kind, because kindness requires vulnerability. You have to be open, and you have to care, and once you can do those two things, you’ll find that Gish-ish high that we all ride once the Hunt has ended.

#3. We can do amazing things. 

We tend to use the word “amazing” to describe things that don’t actually amaze us, so let me be clear: Gishers amaze the world with what we accomplish every year. We break world records (and actual records too); we gain the attention of news outlets across the globe; and we can change lives.

Here’s the proof:

There’s less than hour left on the clock, and while tomorrow the world will feel a little less colorful (and, for some of us, a lot less itchy), we would all do well to remember that we can be amazing for more than one week every year.

Be amazing. Be abnosome. Get kind.

May the Gishwhes odds be ever in your favor.

-The Collectress

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