Every LDS Singles ward has at least one or two of them; the motivators. These are the people who get really excited about an activity simply because being excited is what makes it fun. The kind of people who are the go to advertisers for the leaders in the wards. The ones who give the post activity report, ever enthusiastic about how great it was. Even as youth they would pull their friends out on the dance floor during the Electric Slide just to make sure they were all having fun too. I hate to admit it, and please hold your scorn and hisses till the end of this blog, but that was me. I was the epitome of that kid. I trained kids to be that kid. And I HATE the Electric Slide. That, the Cupid Shuffle, the Cotton Eyed Joe, and especially that line dance that the weird girl made up to some random song that somehow stuck.
Now that I’m a young professional (or at least my interpretation of what that’s supposed to mean) recently liberated from BYU and back in my home town of Orlando I can’t help but notice that my YSA activities bare a striking resemblance to that of the one I attended as a fifteen year old over a decade ago. Lets face it, the dances are exactly the same, only now you won’t find me in the middle of any dance circles. I simply refuse to force those things to be fun anymore. That burden now fall upon a new generation
I don’t like to point out a problem without an answer, which is why, after a couple years of quietly griping to whomever might be standing near me if I happened upon such an activity, I think I may be able to offer my version of a solution. Since I haven’t yet entered what many of my leaders believe to be the magic portal of marriage into ‘real’ adulthood, I’m not looking for approval from or the appeasement of anyone on an official level. This will remain somehow separate from my activities calling in my own ward, though If I can work that to be mutually beneficial I might. In any case, the creation of this blog marks the inauguration of what I have lovingly termed the Pro YSA Network for, as you read up top, Professional Young Single Adults.
Of course these kinds of things come with follow up questions. Allow me to try to diffuse a couple off the bat.
Are there age limits? Young. That’s all I’m going to say on that one. If your 22 and complaining about how your too old to still be awesome, then stay home. If you 35 and still rocking the free world, join us in paradise!
What are we going to do? Great things. I know of cool people on the West coast who have gathered people together for massive camping trips, cruises, and all sorts of fun filled fun. This can be an info hub to help get the word around. Really its a startup base for people to form associations that can build things up more by word of mouth. I mean, as soon as something becomes more published than invite it tends to kill the vibe, so this will be a place to get the ball rolling with branches splintering off into their own thing.
Who’s going to be there? If you really asked this question your no longer invited. I hate this question.
So now lets see what we come up with, shall we?
