“Becoming a Fellow is a great opportunity to expand your network in the local Detroit community and immerse yourself in the people that make Detroit what it is.” – Jolie Habashy
Play
It’s no secret that I love to play. My mind rolls the clip of my cohort playing freeze tag at my prompting during our visit to Historic Fort Wayne for our project with Detroit Parks Coalition. My mind also jumps to our visit to Rouge Park to interview a stakeholder for this same project where I sprinted to playground equipment and Raquel joined me at the seesaw.
Raquel and I testing out the seesaw at Rouge Park during a site visit.
Before our white elephant exchange, I asked Malik, a fellow Fellow, to carry me in the Ikea bag I brought my gifts in for a good chuckle to which he successfully did! And after our white elephant exchange before our holiday break, I led most of the cohort through a game of fishbowl, where I deeply enjoyed my cofellows shouting random nouns at mimed hints.
Sometimes, being so playful can be a bit lonely at times as well. We were at the Joe Louis Greenway Warren Gateway for a project kickoff at the end of March. It was the second day of spring and a snowstorm had decided to bestow itself upon us. While I was dressed for the weather to play in the snow and brand new playground equipment, very few cofellows were equally as excited. I made my snow angels, and balled up my snowballs, but my cofellows stepped back and said “No, thank you!”
I guess this is all to say, I’m kind of a child at heart in some ways. I find it difficult to thrive in the day-to-day things. I ride my bike to work because it’s much more rewarding than driving. I wear bright colors because they make me feel excited. I play team sports because I find joy in playing together.
There are plenty of moments to play in Challenge even through the work we do. From the way we empathize with stakeholders and explore their world, to how we get to put unlimited sticky notes up only to take them down in an aggressive swoop. Even on our working Friday walks, I find things to climb and notice the things that have changed around us every week.
I think play is most meaningful when its impact is felt. I think people forget that playing is a form of connecting with others. It is a way to learn from others and gain understanding.
Sometimes it’s hard to be the only one in the room that wants to be playful so much of the time. However, on some occasions, it is infectious, and it allows myself and others to connect with each other in ways that wouldn’t be possible if we didn’t engage.
Playing around during orientation at Techtown’s Toast of the Town event.
ABOUT: Hi I’m Jolie. I was born in Egypt. My family moved to Michigan when I was 11 and I’ve been based in metro Detroit since then. I graduated from MSU with a BS Physiology degree and a minor in Women’s Studies and History Philosophy, and Sociology of Science. During my time at MSU I played club rugby, refereed intramural soccer, and was a Resident Assistant my senior year. I’ve lived in Detroit for the past 3 years and I see it as a place of refuge. I spend a lot of my free time just exploring and engaging with my newfound community. You can also find me playing Ultimate Frisbee with the Detroit Ultimate Frisbee League, reading poetry at local bookstores, writing the occasional ideas down, cycling or mopeding to see my friends and loved ones, and making slow-cooker hearty meals.