I went to my first meetup in 2011 (the third). Circumstances had conspired against me for the first 2 years: I was unemployed in March 2009 and in March 2010 my new job’s annual conference was during the same time. It felt weird to actually get to one after three full years of plotting and trying to go. But within about 2 hours of arriving I knew I’d made the right decision.
My first year, I solidified friendships in a way that you only can with hugs; I made new friends who have become some o f the most important people in my life.
One of the things I remember most clearly is TopGun saying how smiley and happy I was. I am a lot of things in my day-to-day, but glowing and smiley isn’t always one of them. Catching little glimpses of myself in mirrors and windows, I could see how true it was. And I felt it, like I had a little tiny sunshine inside of me, lighting me up. I booked time off for my second meetup before I booked time off for my wedding. That’s how awesome a GWC meetup is.
This year, I almost knocked over at least 4 people with hugs the size of Texas itself. (sorry, Juan!) I laughed more in those 4 days than I have in all three months of the year so far. There’s nothing quite as amazing as realizing that half the people in the room are folks you’d likely never have connected with if not for GWC. How many dudes in their 40s with kids would I likely strike up friendships with in the course of my daily life? How many college students do I know anymore? And yet, we’ve all got so much more in common than various fandoms. Others have said it, I can’t really improve on the sentiment: a meetup is a family reunion. The good parts version.
