Chicago Area Belegarth Practices

The realm (practice area) of Galahad practices on Saturdays from 3-6pm at the at the corner of Michigan and Roosevelt (by Columbia College)
Facebook Page: Morva; Galahad Medieval Combat Society

The realm (practice area) of Yggdrasil practices on Thursdays from 7-9pm in Oz Park (by DePaul University, 2021 N. Burling St., Chicago, IL, 60614, 10 minute walk from the Fullerton Red/Brown/Purple line)
Facebook Page: Morva; Yggdrasil Belegarth Realm

The realm (practice area) of Esgaroth practices on Sundays from 3-6pm at Foster Avenue Beach (5200 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60640, by the Berwyn/Bryn Mawr Red line)
Facebook Page: Morva; Esgaroth Belegarth Realm

The realm (practice area) of Nightfort practices Sundays at 4:00pm to 7:30pm (or sundown/too many bugs) at Citizen’s Park, 511 Lake Zurich Rd, Barrington, IL 60010 (weather permitting) from approximately May-October. Winter and bad weather practices are at the Village Church of Barrington, 1600 E. Lake Cook Rd, Barrington, IL 60010
Facebook Page: Nightfort: Belegarth Medieval Combat Society

The realm (practice area) of Dunharrow practices on Tuesdays from 5pm to sundown at Wing Park, 1000 Wing St., Elgin, IL 60123
Facebook Page: Dunharrow, BMCS

The realm (practice area) of Obsidian Hollow practices on Saturdays from 2-5pm at Big Sky (Ken Carpenter) Park, 600 Harvest Gate, Lake in the Hills, IL, 60156
Facebook Page: Obsidian Hollow

The realm (practice area) of Muxlovia practices on Saturdays from 5-8pm at the Bible Baptist Church of Romeoville, 301 W. Normantown Rd., Romeoville, IL 60446
Facebook Page: Muxlovia

Speak Out

In light of a recent sexual assault incident within my home base community, as well as whatever other crap is going around, here is what to do if this ever happens to you:

(Speak Out)
In a world of being trained to keep your mouth shut to everything,
Unless you are going to drop the f bomb several times at someone for no reason,
Speak out of hate or vengeance,
Or just have something insanely nasty to say to someone,
Open up!

Even if your parents rejected all of your attempts to express yourself as a child,
And you were taught to mask your thoughts and opinions out of fear and lack of safety,
To a point where you never learned the ability to stand up for yourself,
Say something anyway, without looking back or holding regrets!

As a woman especially, the culture of sexual violation stigmatizes coming out of the closet.
You don't want to have a giant neon sign flashing "victim" over your head.
Fear surrounds you as you don't want the enemy to retaliate,
Causing a mental blockade
And getting stuck in the shade.

If you have an army behind you, justice shall prevail,
Especially in a supportive, open, and welcoming community!
Any retaliation will be shielded by the army,
While the rest community will scoop you up with open arms.
It's time to be brave!

If you're stuck in a junction of going for the kill to protect others
Versus letting the enemy run loose and cause more casualties,
Go for the kill!
The army will protect you and help to start a movement
To ensure everyone else's safety
And consequences for the villains.
You will be appreciated more than you think for representing the side of justice,
Because bravery always wins,
And evil shall sink into the fire!

Living Your Life

Friday morning philosophies about the meaning of life a la Rebs: what it means to be living your life. Happy Friday, beautiful day everyone! :D

Life: You wake up every day with a goal in mind of how you’re going to better yourself, even if the opportunity to do so isn’t right in front of you. You walk out the door and have a map and destination plotted in your head. You think you’re going to turn one direction and end up having a sudden urge to deviate or an obstacle falls in front of you and you have to walk around it. Your destination can unexpectedly change in an instant, and you have to breathe and keep moving. You slip, you fall, you pout, scream, even fail a few times, and still have the will to get up. The mindset of a champion is engrained in your brain, even though it may take tripping over your shoelaces a few times to learn your lesson. Some battles are victorious and others end in defeat. The finish line is located “somewhere”. While some people think there’s no such thing, some turn around and go home, but no, you will keep looking until you are physically unable to do so anymore. Plenty of people are met along the way. Wisdom is exchanged. Opportunities are lost, found, and created. Stories unfold, recorded, and are later told. You eventually become tired and wonder why it’s taking so long to find the finish line. You feel like you’re running around in circles and stuck in a loop. You feel like you’re about to go crazy and possibly even lose everything; you do everything in your power to stay afloat, even if it means having visions of tossing your computer out  the window. You feel like nothing is happening and are displeased with yourself because you don’t think you’re doing enough, even though you are doing everything in your power and will to reach the top. After taking a few moments to check in with yourself, you wonder what it means to be living your life. Do you want to know how to live your life? Well first, you actually have to wake up, walk out the door, go exploring, get eaten by wolves a few times, and keep attempting the game an indefinite number of times until you reach the goal. Do you want to live your life? Get on the other side of the door and go cross the street. A vast universe is ready for you to paint it! Resilience shall always prevail, because you can win and you will win!