As an experience, loneliness can be frightening to think about. For LGBTQIA+ people especially, speaking about loneliness has the potential to trigger unhappy memories and emotions that strike deep chords within.<\/p>\n
Which is why for our first workshop with young LGBTQIA+ people (16-25), based in Cornwall, we began by thinking about the experience of belonging.<\/p>\n
Where do I feel like I belong?<\/p>\n
Where do I come from?<\/p>\n
To whom do I belong?<\/p>\n
So together we watched Dean Atta’s performance of the poem ‘I Come From’. This is a remarkably simple yet complex poem. Essentially you write it yourself, using only ‘I come from’ as the start of a line. Usually you’d join together two quite unlikely sources of belonging, such as<\/p>\n
I come from fish and chips and Chemistry homework.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
But over time, you end up with a really intimate and personal glimpse into what makes you you.<\/p>\n