Good Luck On Back To School, And Fall 2020 Plans!! :)

Heyy everyone!! :)

I hope you're all enjoying one of the very last weekends of the summer! It is so hard to believe how quickly this summer flew by. And what a weird summer it was! As I reflected on in last week's post, this summer certainly was very different from anything we've experienced in the past. It has definitely had its share of challenges, but I do still feel that it was a very productive time and we were able to do quite a lot during it, and we certainly learned and grew a lot. Thank you all so much again for helping to make it so successful. I hope everyone is having fun soaking up some sun during this Labor Day Weekend and is getting in some rest and relaxation while you can!! :)

As we all know, it is Back-To-School Season once again!! Of course, that doesn't really apply to me personally this year... as I shared last week, I graduated from college this past May, so this is the first September in basically my entire life that I am not going back to school. It is a super weird feeling, and I am still processing it. It's both scary and exciting at the same time!! In this week's post, however, I want to place the focus on all of you out there who are going back to school this year, whether that be college, high school, graduate school, middle school, elementary school, nursery school, post-graduate school, or anything else! Whatever age you are and whatever type of student you are, I want to wish you the VERY BEST OF LUCK!!!! :) <3

Since I am not going back to school this year, I cannot say that I know entirely what it must feel like to be either returning to school, or perhaps starting a new school, in the midst of all of these challenges. I can only imagine how you all are feeling, I know this must be a super crazy, stressful, hectic time for everyone. Whether you are staying entirely online, doing mostly in-person classes, or a mix of both, I know that just trying to figure out what your fall semester will look like is probably stressing you out! If you are moving into, or back into, a college dorm room and you're coming from a place far away from your school, I know many of you are having to quarantine for weeks before classes start. I know that in many high schools, some of the students will be going certain days during the week while others will be going on other days. And I know that all the teachers, professors, counselors, and administrators out there are just as stressed as the students, many probably even more so! It's quite a rough time.

And of course, wherever you are going to school, if you are going to be there in-person you clearly will have to wear masks throughout the entire school day, make sure you are staying distanced from other people, and just go through your school day extremely differently from what you are used to. There will probably be little-to-none extracurricular activities, school events, assemblies, crowd gatherings, and things like that. You won't be able to get into contact with your friends as closely as you could before all of this. And I know all of this is going to make school a much different, and much more challenging, experience than anything you are used to. And my heart truly does go out to each and every one of you out there.

But I do want to say that I BELIEVE IN YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!! I know times are tough, and I know you're stressed, but I know that you are so incredibly strong and that you got this!! It won't be easy, but I think the most important thing to remember throughout all of this is that you are never alone in any of it. Everyone else at your school will be in the same boat as you, so you will have them to share the experience with. Be sure to lean on each other for support (maybe not physically just yet lol, but in spirit at least!)! Surround yourself with your loved ones and those who lift you up and bring positive energy into your lives. Share what you are going through with your friends and family, and make sure you invite into your life all of the love and support you need. No matter what happens, I am so incredibly confident that each and every one of you will make it through this! These times will pass, and things will be getting better before we know it.

So, do your very best to make the most of your school year!! It will be so different, but I know that you're all extremely creative and that you will find ways of still making it really great. Remember to embrace the new opportunities that surround you, and use your unique talents and skills to make the difference that you are meant to make, for yourselves and for others!! Always know that you can do this. I know you can. You got this, and you are so amazing!! I believe in you thoroughly, and I am so excited to see all that you will accomplish from here on out. It's going to be great!! :)

So, whether you have started classes already, or you are about to start them this week, get out there and have as much fun with it as you can!! So excited to hear all about it, and to see what you do. Remember that I am ALWAYS here for you for whatever you need, so please feel free to reach out to me at anytime, if you want some advice or someone to bounce some ideas off of, or just someone to talk to! I'd always be happy to help you out. Remember that in the end, YOU GOT THIS!!!! :)

Before we wrap up this post, I just want to update you all on our plans for what we have going on this fall for Best Feeling Ever. Thank you so much to everyone who helped us plan during this past week, we made a lot of great progress!! Here are all of the plans and updates that we have so far:

Best Feeling Ever Fall 2020 Plans, As Of 9/3/2020

Questions To Answer, And Our Thoughts So Far:

Fall 2020 Zoom Meetings

1. What days and times are we going to meet?

- Keep asking everyone to fill out calendars by 9/12

2. How many meetings should we hold throughout the week?

- Possibly one each weekday in the evening, others on weekends

3. What types of meetings should we hold throughout the week?

- Possibly keep the same types of meetings we have been doing in August: General Meetings, Workshops, Service Nights, Fun Nights

- Instead of doing multiple General Meetings during weekdays, possibly do one during the week and others on weekends

4. How do we create the schedule of events for the entire Fall? Do we go month by month or do we schedule everything in the beginning?

- Idea: Come up with a preliminary schedule of all fall events at the beginning of the fall and announce this in our first week. At the same time, we revisit the schedule for each month at the beginning of the month and see if there is anything we’d like to change or tweak and make those changes as necessary.

5. How do people sign up or register to attend Zoom meetings?

- Idea: New people who are interested in joining can fill out a brief online questionnaire so that we can get to know them a bit better first.

6. How are we going to announce/promote the meetings?

- Release full Fall schedule at the beginning of the fall, release monthly schedule at the beginning of each month, release weekly schedule at the beginning of each week.

- Use social media to promote the meetings!

- Try to keep spreading the word!!

Service Project: COVID-19 Fundraiser

1. What day and time works best?

- Ideas: Saturday, October 3rd and Sunday, October 4th OR Saturday, October 10th and Sunday October 11th… Which of these would be better??

- Event would go from 7-10 PM each night.

2. What platforms should we livestream on?

- YouTube, Facebook, Twitch… which of these would be best for which segments?

3. What order should we put the segments in? Each one will last about an hour.

- Possible order: 1. Talent Show, 2. Challenge Stream, 3. Meditation/Yoga, 4. Motivational Speeches, 5. Gaming Stream, 6. Movie Night. Reminder: Each of these will be about an hour long, three on Saturday night, and three on Sunday night. The stream will run from about 7-10 PM each of those nights. Thoughts?

4. What are some alternative segments we can do if any of the above don’t work out?

- Ideas: Comedy Stream, Fitness/Workout Stream, Poetry Stream, Arts & Crafts Stream

5. How do we get people to donate during each of the segments?

- Encourage donations, have a button to donate to Doctors Without Borders

6. How do we promote this event?

- Use social media!!

Create flyer by Saturday, 9/12. Information to include on flyer: Segments We’ll Be Doing, Order Of Segments, Movie For Movie Night, Platform We’ll Be Streaming On, Positive Quote, Other Information

- Try To Get Event In The News

Service Project: Black Lives Matter

1. What date and time and should we hold this event on?

- Ideas: A Friday at around 7 or 8 PM. IF Fundraiser is hosted on October 3rd and 4th, would it be best to host this on Friday, October 9th? If the Fundraiser is hosted on October 10th and 11th, would it be best to host this on Friday, October 2nd? Thoughts?

- We will work around the schedules of the other organizations that will be helping us.

2. What should the agenda of this event be? What will we include?

- Ideas: Presentations, activities, YouTube videos, resources, petitions, places to donate, etc. Have agenda created by September 10th.

List Of Things To Accomplish During Planning Week Of 9/7

- Let’s try to hold at least two meetings next week, between Monday, September 7th and Thursday, September 10th.

- By September 7th: Have dates set for COVID-19 Relief Fundraiser

- Decide On Types Of Meetings

- Plan Out Fall Schedule, What Kinds Of Workshops/Fun Nights, Etc.

- Create Questionnaire For New Meeting Registrants

- By September 9th: Decide on date for Black Lives Matter event.

- By September 10th: For COVID-19 Relief Fundraiser, Decide what segments we will include, what order the segments will be in, what movie we will show during movie night, whether or not we will need to do any alternative segments, which platforms to livestream on, how viewers will donate, and practice livestreaming a Zoom meeting.

- By September 10th: Have agenda for Black Lives Matter event created.

- Create social media outline/plans for the fall.

- Plan how people can sign up to host their own workshops/meetings.

- Idea: Host a 9/11 Tribute/Memorial Event on evening of Friday, 9/11. What might this look like?

- Plan intro meetings for week of 9/14.

- Brainstorm more ideas to do in the fall, other than meetings.

- By September 12th: Have flyers created for COVID-19 Fundraiser and Black Lives Matter project.

- Find out schedules of guest speakers for events.

- September 13th: Last day to fill out the availability calendars.

- September 14th/15th: Choose meeting dates and times, finalize fall schedule.

- On or around September 16th: Announce fall schedule, kick things off!! 😊

More Best Feeling Ever Fall 2020 Ideas

September Zoom Meeting Schedule:

- Week of September 7th: Planning for the Fall

- Week of September 14th: Intro To The Fall, Announce Schedule

- Week of September 21st: First Full Week Of Meetings

- Have availability calendars filled out by the 13th

- Have schedule created by the 15th

- Announce Schedule Week Of The 14th

- September: Workshops/Fun Nights We’ve Tried In August

Halloween Event Ideas:

- October: Fall Harvest/Halloween Theme For Most Things

- Scary Stories/Ghost Stories (Possible October Workshop)

- Haunted House Escape Room Night (Possible October Fun Night)

- Costume Party/Talk About How Costumes Relate To Us (Possible Workshop For Week Before Halloween)

- Halloween Party (Possible Fun Night For October 30th)

- Halloween Candy Drive, Cheer Up Doctors

- Creepypasta Night !! >:) (Possible October Workshop Or Fun Night)

- Two-Sentence Horror Stories (Possible October Workshop Or Fun Night)

- Midnight Stories (Creepypasta Countdown: Tame ones leading up to Midnight, Scary ones at Midnight)

- Pumpkin Crafts: (Possible October Workshop)

Thanksgiving Ideas:

- November: Thanksgiving Theme For Many Things

- Share What We’re Thankful For (Possible November Workshop)

- Thanksgiving Food Drive

Winter Holiday Ideas:

- December: Christmas/Holiday Theme

- Secret Santa

Other Fall 2020 Ideas:

- Other Activities/Ways For Us All To Get Know Each Other

- Host Break Out Room Activities During Meetings, 3-5 People At A Time?

- “Surprise Buddy” Idea: People Can Sign Up To Be Paired Up In A One-On-One Meeting With Another Person, So They Can Get To Know Them Better

- Comedy Night (Possible Fun Night Or Workshop)

- Host A 21 Questions Game In Group Chats/Over Social Media

- Create A Mascot For Best Feeling Ever!

Please take a look at this list to make sure you are up-to-date on everything!! If you have any more questions, comments, ideas, or anything else to contribute, I would love to hear that from you, so please reach out to me at anytime and let me know about that. We will continue planning and scheduling things for the fall this week. I look forward to seeing you there!! I really am very excited for this fall, and I know that it will be great. Thank you so much everyone, we got this!! Let's get hyped for it!!!! :)

Once again, stay strong everyone, you are all amazing and I know that we will make it through all of this by sticking together. BEST OF LUCK to everyone who is going back to school, I know it will be a very challenging year but you are so strong and creative and YOU GOT THIS!! Please always let me know anytime you ever need anything, reach out at anytime, I am always here. I am sending you all SO MUCH love and lots of virtual hugs!! Please always keep being kind and loving to yourselves and to each other. I can't wait to see all of you really soon, and I am so excited for all of the great stuff we have coming up this fall. It's going to be amazing. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH, LET'S DO THIS!!!! :) <3

Your friend forever,

Adam Silverstein :) <3