Yesterday was the official last day of my Improv Leadership class. This class was one of my favorites this semester and I am so glad that I signed up to take it. Even though it's been a tough semester mentally and emotionally, I looked forward to this class every week and left feeling so much better, even if it had been a good day for me.
We spent the day doing exercises that were fun (as always), wrapping up emotional intelligence, and writing a few anonymous letters. The time flew by because before we knew it, Cort was calling to end the class. We all sat on the floor in a circle, and Cort opened up the floor to talk about what we'll take away from the class, a favorite moment, or we could give a shout out to someone.
A lot of people talked about a specific exercise they enjoyed, or how they always loved coming to class. I shared what I disliked about the class; the fact that we only met once a week and that I had wished there was more time to make deeper connections with everyone in class. Only two people received shout outs. I was shocked when one of my small group mates called me out.
"I wanna give a shout out to Janina. I appreciate the energy she always brought to class and for always being open and honest. They way she treated us and acted, she was really like the big sister and made it feel like a family."
I was completely caught off guard and incredibly moved and honored. I honestly wanted to cry because I was so touched by his words. I wished he didn't have to leave early (he had a CS test he had to leave for) because I just wanted to give him a huge hug.
It's been awhile since I've interacted with so many people and enjoyed it, wanted to get to know people. The last time for me was back when I was in Fayetteville, NC. I often talk about the herc/130 community and I've met some of my best friends while I was apart of that community. Not just stationed with me at Pope, but also at Dyess, Yokota, and Ramstein, since we were all deployed to the same location in the desert. I miss being in an atmosphere like that that, and 191 was the closest I've gotten to something like that.
I loved 191I and every person in there has left a mark, no matter how little or how much I interacted with them. This class left quite the impact on me, and I'm so appreciative for what Cort, Ori, and Andrew have done for all of us.
