Holding on to my wonder đź’
We spend years of our life looking for the one. Even though the world is a bit more pragmatic, and on an intellectual basis, we know that the chances of finding perfection in this world are next to impossible, we still hold out. Why? We hold out because we dream of the wonder that ‘the one’ brings to our lives. The earth is no longer just another planet; it becomes an oyster. Flowers morph into a kaleidoscope, and our coffee tastes smoother.
Finding ‘the one’ is not just relegated to emotional relationships; we show up with that need even in places that require only productivity and efficiency because we know the difference having the feeling of ‘the one’ brings into things. I think we mostly couch it as culture, but for me, it is just ‘the one.’
Finding a perfect fit
Some people are fortunate to find that seamless fit, gliding into it without wiggling, jumping, or stretching. The alignment feels great, the view is near perfect, the struggle looks like surmountable challenges, and bad times don’t signal the end. It’s not just work it becomes fate.
Then, there are people, like me, who struggle to find that ease of flow. We swing to a rhythm not recognised by many. For our Rumba, we get a Waltz for our Cha Cha, we get a Tango. We do not seamlessly find ‘the one’ in the work we want to do. There might be those occasional sparks of wonder, but our hearts won’t zing at the same time.
I have worked on great projects over the years with amazing people, I fell in love with the work we did and how impactful they were, but we all knew that it was a project with a time frame. When it’s time to leave, you leave.
We have to fight for the stories that, in our world, in our reality, and the patterns we see, are important. Even when facts and real-life data can prove how imperative it is to address them, we have to live with the very real threat of never seeing these stories getting the treatment they need because they are tossed aside. And just like that, our candle might become a victim of the wind.
Enter Sport Salon
Sport Salon started as a radio show in 2016. I was coming off hosting a radio show for kids in sports and at the same time designing a production plan for a human rights show where we were going to investigate abuse.
An introduction our origin story for Sport Salon can be found here: Our Origin Story:Sport Salon
When Sport Salon launched, I was hyped! It was a new territory for me. The sports I had known up until that point were male-dominated in every way. I am a bit of a rebel, and I knew that we were going to break the mold. First was our language. We branded it as an alternative sports show, a place for every sports fan. When people tried to brand us as just women, we took it and owned the story. We talked about everything, even WAGS.
There were times a couple of experiences on the show and off the show knocked me, but I didn’t have time to wallow. I needed to show up for the co-hosts who showed up for our show and for me by extension. One day, I hope to get the entire cast in a podcast and share our individual stories.
However, there was a particular incident that knocked me out. Our show was on Sundays, and it is the last sport show on the Sunday belt because of live matches. On an earlier belt covering a live match, a lady came on to do match analysis. The live game ended, it was show time for us. She was hanging around the live studio while we were on; we invited her to join in, and she declined on the basis of, ‘it’s just women. She won’t be taken seriously. She doesn’t take it seriously.’
My initial reaction was to ask her if we looked like a joke? However, she acted out and expressed, in not so many words, a feeling I grappled with, a reaction we get all the time, and a sentiment that was expressed when certain decisions were made about the show. That night, she embodied the exact challenge women’s sports and women in sports have to fight every day. The battle of proving your value. Showing up, doing the job is never really enough.
Back to the present
When 2020 hit, and we had to rework the Salon, I knew that whatever community we are building, safety has to be at the heart of it. I don’t want anybody feeling knocked out in our space. We want a space that allows the heart to zing, the eyes to hold wonders, the curiosity to explore the world, the desire to discover new things, the faith to plant ideas and projects, and the patience to let them grow because our environment nurtures things and lets them bloom.
Saying Sport Salon is here to stay sounds like a clichĂ© rhetoric because I am keen on it not being for my ego’s sake. If we ever reach a point where our community no longer needs us because they have everything and are self-sustaining, we’ll simply evolve with them. If we also reach a point where we lose sight of our purpose, we’ll step away and not look back in anger.
I want to say wherever the road may lead, we’ll aim to have fun. But, we know exactly where the road leads because we have been on it for a while. What makes this road, or journey if you’d call it so, stand out is because we get to fix the road as we go. There are no destinations, just opportunities to change things, build things, and make things better for everyone on the same road or trying to get on it.