the events of toy fair are still running around my head, as if they have the New York energy, just as i’m settling back into my rocky mountain routine…
i havent had a chance to write yet, or more likely, i havent known what to write.
let me start with this. i am 23 years old. this, and toy fair speicifically, is the biggest thing i have ever been a part of. and when you can stand back, and soak that in, it is a humbling feeling.
i love NY, i love everything about it, and feel as if every time i leave, i come home with a sense of inspiration and new found courage to go boldly.
let me state how these lessons came to be on this trip.
we always say that our goal is to operate with ease and grace. we arrived in NY, were picked up by our van service, dropped our stuff off, and made it to Charlotta’s easily. we set up saturday morning, and spent the afternoon shopping. ease and grace.
sunday, the opening day of toy fair, started with a boom - literally. lightning, thunder, and over two feet of snow. i questioned nicole for putting make-up on, just to walk through horizontal wet snow, and the miami girl in her continued to do so. we bundled up, set out, and froze. there is something about a city that is burried. there is a silence that can’t be explained, but only experienced. i managed to fall on my butt, and even run into a man in the middle of the street because it was so painful to look up. i was grumpy to say the least, and nicole learned from me, all it takes is five minutes, and i’m fine.
the first day was quiet. we met many people. as i like to think, we made friends.
the next few days came and went. they were a blur. but lessons were learned and i’m thankful for those people who stopped to learn about shift.
i learned that the game really works. on a slow afternoon i played the game with the man from the booth next door. before that, i knew his name, he made games, and he was silly. after playing the game, i formed such an understanding with him that i was sad to say goodbye. he knew me and i knew him and by the end, we were friends. just because we took a half - hour to play the game. i had never been so proud of the game.
i learned to believe in what you do and be proud. it radiates. people can tell.
i learned to watch out for water puddles (as i stepped in one every day of toy fair…).
i learned that we are living the sugi tanka quote, "Don’t go with the flow. You are the flow."
…and, we are the future of games.
turns out toy fair is a lot like summer camp, in my opinion. you are intimidated at first, you make these relationships, you learn the ways, and just as things get good, you need to pack up and go home. granted there are no campfires or mosquito bites, but the bags are heavy, and everyone is exhausted when it is all said and done. you go home and wonder if you were crazy for doing what you had done, but know that every experience makes you who you are and takes you where you are going.
(i’ll add my after Toy Fair lessons…
- you don’t think you can do something until you have to - then you do it and wonder what you were waiting for. you feel fabulous.
-nothing works without communication.
-see only the present - love the past - and carry the lessons with you to the future.
-slow down.
-laugh with your whole body.
-go big or go home.
-live in the moment.) -Thank You.
