When the Stars Align

Blessed are the days when something you have been working toward is achieved. Sometimes the stars align and you are part of a wonderful event that brings together good people to learn together, share knowledge, witness positive activity, and have fun.

Such was today for my husband. The “Media Literacy: Activism, Consumption & Production in the 21st Center Conference” * that he worked diligently to put together happened and it was successful. The stars and people aligned. The weather cooperated. The keynote speaker riveted (and arrived from out-of-town – always an iffy proposition in the winter). The student panelists came, shared, taught and conquered. The one speaker who was detained by weather, sent her introduction via a post on You Tube – reinforcing the theme of the conference. The funder came and was able to witness that the program was well-conceived, well-executed, well-attended and sincerely appreciated. All the i’s were dotted and the t’s were crossed.

It is no small feat to put on a conference or program of any kind. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. You check your lists, twice. You meet with collaborators. You market and recruit. You second guess yourself. You run through your power point and check off your to-do lists. You pack and repack your materials. You meet the inevitable glitches and solve them. You toss and turn and stay up late, night after night, while you go over details.

People rsvp and do not show and show who did not rsvp. This works out – the people in the room are the ones who were meant to be there. Your colleagues show their respect for you by their participation.

Oh, wait – did you remember to (1) distribute the evaluations and (2) to collect them? Yes, you did. (Although you know by the feelings in the room and immediate feedback that the conference achieved what it was intended to achieve.) Not only that but everything was preserved on tape by BNN!

You are tired but so wired you cannot sleep. You gush about the day. People were brought together for good – connections were made and reinforced. Young people will benefit and that is the ultimate purpose of the work after all. A follow-up event is already in the planning stages.

When the stars align, it is a powerful thing. When you put positive things in the world – “he’ll understand, oh yeah, and say, well done.”

Congratulations, my love.

*The conference was given by the Boston Public Schools Arts, Media & Communications Technology Industry Cluster in collaboration with Northeastern University, Project: Think Different, YWCA, Boston Neighborhood Network and the Media Education Lab of Temple University.