'Virtually' Worn Out...

It has been quite a while since I have published anything. It is definitely not for a lack of ideas or for the dozen half-finished blog posts waiting to be finished.

Like so many during this pandemic, I am 'Virtually' Worn Out.

I have my own life, interests, commitments and to be honest I am tired of the online world.

My normal life does not consist of a lot of online line activity; a few emails here, the odd blog post there, binge watching seasons on Netflix, and of course hours on Pinterest looking at things that I will never accomplish. But compared to most, I am barely online.

Like so many Guider's, I wear many Guiding hats and hold different Guiding positions. All of which I normally wear proudly and love on normal days.

Last week I didn't even want to wear pants, let alone a hat.

I am the 'bush-craft-survival-skills-these-things-will-keep-you-alive' Guider. I am the 'you need to learn these knots, fire-starting, orienteering and tracking skills' Guider that is preparing the girls for a zombie invasion or to live off grid.

I am also the 'Yes, you can have second helpings of dessert, because this is camp and we are here to have fun and make memories' Guider.

I love Guiding, and the memories it stirs in myself. I love the skills I help teach and facilitate and our Guiding history. But I hate virtual meetings.

Pandemic and Guiding Restrictions

My Guide unit managed two outdoor meetings (with masks for a hike no-less) before we were sent into a lockdown again. We have only been allowed to meet virtually since the second week of September; with no end in sight, no hope of camps in the future and trying to accomplish limited activities virtually.

Our unit used free Zoom in the beginning but was cut off after 40 minutes. Free Zoom also does not have features like breakout rooms.

Then we used Microsoft Teams. This is when my frustration became unbearable.

Full disclosure, I am not a tech wizard. However, I am pretty savvy and learn very quickly. We give a lot of personal time to Guiding, planning, preparing and now deliveries of activities. I have found planning virtual is a lot more involved. To be honest, I cannot give more time or energy to becoming more proficient in another platform.

We found Teams slow, difficult and counter-intuitive to navigate. Simple actions took lots of research to execute rather than clicking a button. We had special guests that at the last minute could not open the Teams link sent to them. Worse than the Guiders despising this platform, was that the girls did not like the platform either.

I was ready to give up. I shared with my Co-Guiders how frustrated I was, and how despite my normal energy and excitement for a Guides meeting, I had begun to dread our virtual meetings. I was starting to question remaining a Guider during this pandemic. I was over-whelmed and fed-up.

I am not a quitter, but was on the brink. I kept thinking about how most girls would be fine without Guiding for a few months. But then thought about that one girl who ONLY has Guiding in her life. You know the one. The girl who is everything Guiding. The girl who is the first and last at any meeting, whether virtual or in-person. The girl who has no friends but feels supported at Guides. The girl who is a mirror of me when I was a Guide. The girl that is why I continue to Guide even on my bad days.

I know that there are other free and paid platforms, such as: Google Meets, Zoom, Facebook Messenger rooms, Discord....We just needed the right fit for us. Our girls mostly use Zoom for school and other activities and had been asking to use Zoom again.

So after a discussion with my Co-Guiders we opted to pay for Zoom on a 'test-run-see-how-it-goes' basis. We are paying out of pocket, as we are not allowed to use unit funds to pay for this purchase.

We hosted our first paid Zoom this past week.

WOW!

Things ran so smoothly. Girls could all see each other, Guiders were able to share and control everything easily.

We set the girls to work in their new patrols in Breakout rooms and they loved it! We managed to bring our meetings down by half an hour in time versus Teams. Girls and Guiders were so happy to be confident in our new platform.

For now, we will continue to pay out-of-pocket for Zoom for our own sanity. I really hope that we will be allowed to claim this expense in the future. For now, Zoom is the only way we will host or virtual meetings.

I am feeling rejuvenated. Between the new platform and the support from my Co-Guiders I am excited again about up-coming meetings. So much so, that I am preparing activities to run a virtual camp in January.

I am glad that I reached out to my Sisterhood and shared my frustration, because we were all feeling it. I am reaching out to you now to let you know that you are not alone in your feelings. We will get through this!

What is your story? Have you had trouble with virtual meetings or just tired of being online?

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Ça va bien aller! It will be ok!