A Crash Course in Genius Hour, and the Project That Will Follow

January 20th, 2020.

Alright, so let's start at the very beginning. My LA (Language Arts) class is doing a project for the last bit of the year called the Courage Project. Basically, we choose a topic, concept, or action that frightens us or makes us nervous, and we do something about it. Pretty straightforward, right? And the cool part about this is that it can be literally anything, from volunteering to raising money to skydiving. This will be taking place both inside and outside of class, in a system called Genius Hour. In a nutshell, Genius Hour is an amount of time (usually about 20%) that is set aside each day out of a regular school day or work day where the students or employees can spend their time on a passion project. My passion/courage project? That's sort of the problem... I have no idea as of now to what I want it to be focused on. Due to my *crippling* fear of singing/performing in front of an audience (honestly? I'm scared of my peers most of all), I'm thinking of holding an open mic/fundraiser, or possibly running (and by running, I do mean running) a 5k, but I'm still mulling it over. Another key aspect of this project: One can do it with a partner. Now, assuming I can find someone to work with me, I might want to do this with someone else. It would make the process more interesting, and I think it would be neat to follow through with something with a good friend beside me, although we would have to complete more work, and if there was a disagreement we would either have to split up and start over or keep working together - even if we didn't get along.

Update: I think I have found my true calling with the courage project: I will busk in downtown Seattle as a fundraiser for either the Seattle Humane Society or possibly my school's music program. This will incorporate my *crippling* fear of performing for others, and it will do good in the world, provided that I can convince my parents and get a score together.

More later,

Catnip E.