I know I got off to a sour start with the first post in this series, but things are looking up as of yesterday afternoon. I got into the most orgasmic brainstorming session with my officers Sunday afternoon, and I've never been more excited about where the club can go. Granted, I was excited when I first took the reins from my predecessor last semester, but there was something missing then; that something was my officer's synergistic input.
There's a total of seven positions: president (that's me), vice president, historian, special events coordinator, public liaison, and Mr. and Ms. Oh-So-Kawaii (our current Ms. O-S-K came up with the idea). Up until about the end of this month, I had been mostly leaving everyone to their own devices. I handled the paperwork for registering us as an official student organization, picked the anime, and made event pages on Facebook for each meeting. Whatever anyone else did, I was only marginally involved. Sure, Ms. O-S-K had an idea for a fundraiser, but I expected her to run with it. Yes, the historian didn't bring a camera sometimes, but I expected him to figure it out. There was a nagging itch in the back of my mind to sit everyone down at once and have an officers-only pow-wow, but nothing ever really materialized.
Cue this weekend.
In retrospect the answer was right down the hall from me the entire time. I already knew that Mr. O-S-K had an ironclad will when he put his mind to something. I just had to direct it. Up until that point, he'd alternated between hating everyone for being loud and inattentive during the meetings and hating everyone for being loud and inattentive (and forgetful) during his Japanese lessons. Long story short, he'd taken to skipping meetings and was considering swearing off anime altogether (it's horrifying, I know). And then he learned about Florida State's anime club. And how they host a con every year. And have QR scan codes on their fliers for said con. Which lead to their official website.
Now here's something you need to understand about Mr. Oh-So-Kawaii: he has a jealous streak that makes Othello's Iago look like a saint. If he even suspects the threat of someone being smarter or better than him, they are instantly marked for destruction. When we first met, he almost killed me just for getting the same test grades as him. So when he learned that there was another group of people who were our age and doing our thing, except with a web presence, his shit became quite flipped.
He launched into an explosively creative tirade that was as filled with good ideas as it was with profanities, and I just stood there with a journal and took notes. Now we're working on:
1) A club mascot and/or logo
2) A mobile app that can teach you Japanese (tentatively dubbed RosettaPhone, ha! get it?)
3) An official website that offers the app for download, is accessible via QR code, and features an animated version of the mascot popping up as you navigate the pages. Eventually it will also help manage members and assist with keeping track of membership dues.
4) A weekly video series of announcements, hosted by club officers, talking about whatever the club is up to.
All those months last semester? Nothing. One three-hour brainstorming session? Practically changed the game. Today's lesson? Negative emotion, like frustration with your club, is unproductive by itself. But with direction ...you can take over the (Tallahassee anime) world.
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