Sunday, September 20, 2015

Being a host

Last night, I went to a new law student orientation game night hosted by the Winston Churchill Gaming Society (great job WuDi Wu and Sue O'Brien on hosting it!) They had an assortment of all different kinds of games, from simple games like Ticket to Ride to party games like Telestrations to more advanced games like Power Grid.
Thing is, I didn't play a single game. Instead, I hung out by the food and talked with all the new students. I asked them where they were from, what they were looking forward to for the new year, what they did before coming to school.
I enjoy playing games, but I enjoy even more being a host. I consider it an act of love. I know what it's like to come to a group and feel awkward, uncomfortable, or out of place. I like to help people feel at ease.
When I meet people, I like to tell stories from my own life. I don't want to come across as trying to seem shiny or cool or interesting. Instead, I want to encourage people to tell their own stories, to share how shiny and cool and interesting they are.
My friend Joy Yang put it well: "Your gift is to turn to someone and have that person feel interesting, important, and valuable." That is something that I wish to steward well.

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