Yes, yes I know what you’re thinking….She is still travelling Ontario virtually? I’m just getting started!
Last week, I had the chance to connect with our New Mentality group in Peterborough that is with our partner agency Peterborough Youth Services. It was my first time meeting a group virtually through Microsoft Teams, and not Zoom… I felt like I was truly a fish out of water!
It was so nice to connect with the adult allies before meeting the youth and to hear how they’ve been adjusting to the virtual world. Fun fact: Peterborough Youth Services’ Executive Director is one of the two adult allies than run The New Mentality group, how cool is that?
There were no introductions needed! The group and I got straight into talking about all the shows we’ve been binge-watching lately, and the Netflix parties we’ve been having with our friends. We collectively decided that we needed to finally add Bridgerton next on our shows to binge watch list.
The youth shared with me that they are working on two murals for Peterborough Youth Services. I could tell how thoughtful and intentional the youth and adult allies were when having discussions around what type of message they would like to push forward both at the agency and community level. They want to highlight themes of growth, inclusivity, and equity! One youth took time to design visuals for what the mural could look like, and I was stunned by how beautiful the designs looked. In fact, I thought the images were taken from Google, but I was mistaken!
These youth are always looking for new ways to advocate in their community, and to get the word out there of amazing work that they are up to! In addition to the mural, the youth are also working on planning to host a talent show in the coming months, which was so exciting to hear.
I still can’t stop laughing about this, but the funniest part of it all was when I was trying to take a group photo, but couldn’t figure out how to take screenshot and still have everyone be a part of the picture on Microsoft Teams! It took many….many tries, and I appreciate the youth for being very patient with me and laughing along the way.
I can’t wait to meet the youth again, and hopefully take a “real” group photo in front of their amazing future mural!
See you all soon on zoom,
Fizza Abbas, Network Coordinator
