Danny ChaiI have a secret talent: I can make balloon animals. I’m rusty now, but I can still do the basics. In my prime though, I could do some nifty stuff, like a parrot on a ring. My niftiest trick that I can still do is a story of Jonah, where I draw a face on the balloon representing Jonah, then there’s a trick where you make the balloon into a big fish with the Jonah head rolling around inside, then get it to spit Jonah out. Pretty cool. I learned all this on a mission trip in high school. Same org that contactdp and nuwanda went on, same summer also, so I think they know these also.
I think a lot about why little kids don’t “get” me and I’ve said this before, but the basic reason is that I’m averse to letting go. In general, with kids you kind of have to just let go of who you are and approach them on their level, be silly and all that. I just can’t do that. Same reason I can’t fast dance. You have to let go. I can’t do that. I can do formal dance, because it’s structured. But yeah, fast dancing and being silly with kids, I just can’t do it.
I do have a secret weapon though, that Jieun has alluded to: unconditional love. Doesn’t matter how many times they reject me, I still love them and I still try, and I think that makes a difference in the end. The kids that are warm to me, I think that’s how I broke through. Didn’t matter how much they were jerks to me. Unconditional love.