The biggest attribute that I gained as a result of my squireship is confidence. Jason gave me many opportunities in a variety of ways to learn this, for lack of a better word, skill. I was barely a squire for a few months when he gave me the opportunity to run Leviathan. He handed over the reigns of his most prized event to a newbie. But that was the boost to my self-confidence that I needed to accomplish the many tasks I have taken on since then. When he called me up in front of the entire feast hall to thank me, I simply burst into tears, unable to fully express the range of emotions I was feeling at the time. Now, I can look back and think of words like gratitude, pride, and joy.
Jason is an experiential teacher for sure. As an educator myself, I recognize my own kind. Every lesson or skill he has wanted me to learn, he hasn’t lectured on (a shock for some of you, I am sure), but instead has provided me with a task that will require the underlying skill to accomplish. I have learned perseverance through many tedious mask making projects. I have learned leadership and decision-making by having it thrust upon me at practice, and most recently, as head war maneuver marshall at Queen of Hearts. I have learned innovation through many planning meetings for Queen of Hearts and Leviathan that have resulted in no small part in things like real bridges for bridge battles and plated feasts.
I think that the knight-squire relationship worked particularly well in this instance because Jason and I are such good friends out-of-game. I sometimes hear someone making a joke, “Isn’t that what you have squires for?” when they want someone to go get something, or do some menial task. I would be very offended if Jason or Aeston sent me to do busy work that he was perfectly capable of doing on his own. That is not the case with us, and I think it is largely because that is not how friends treat one another. Instead, our projects are joint efforts, and I like to think that they are things that we are both proud to have accomplished when all is said and done. It has led to a meaningful few years of mentoring that I am sure will not end when I am knighted, but will continue for many years to come as we embark on still more quests, projects, and hell, maybe even more bridge building.