Mesa one n ten – Program Recap

By Bobby Beverly

The Mesa group has continued to evolve and find its groove over the past couple of weeks with two sessions that could not have been more different. The meeting before last, our theme was “Coming Out Stories.” While designing this session, group leader Lora Pirie and I knew we wanted to learn more about the youth but were aware that with the growing number of those attending, leaving the topic open-ended would most certainly create time constraints. We also wanted to make the topic accessible for those whose identity as GLBTQ may not be fully integrated with other areas of their life, both public and private. With this in mind, we asked the youth to keep in mind that coming out is not one single instance but rather a continuing process and, with this mindset, to share with the group what they consider to be their definitive coming out moment. Some stories were quite humorous and rather drama-free; a testament to how much our culture has changed, while others however were more somber and indicative of how far we still have to go. The session served to help us get to know each other a little better, while also highlighting the uniqueness of our journeys as young gay, lesbian, bi, or trans people.

Our following session served as a stress-reliever of sorts with the theme of “Game Night”. What began as trivia of gay history, soon evolved into Pictionary and then charades of gay history (don’t ask). Overall it was a night reserved simply for social time so the youth could let off a little steam. Later in the month we will be having some really interesting themes with a presentation on the benefits of aromatherapy and a night devoted to the “Gay Alphabet” which will be run by Stacey Jay.

That pretty much brings us up to speed for the Mesa group, but before I conclude I want to mention, we have a new “one n ten Mesa” group on Facebook so check it out for fresh announcements. See you next time!