Reply To: JCCC4: Post Mortem (Feedback Thread)
<prefacing statement: i am well aware that the views expressed below are heavily influenced by my socially anxious and perfectionistic tendencies, plus my highly evolved defenses against rejection (real or perceived). i offer one perspective, and i offer it with the hope of contributing something useful to an already awesome event. please forgive any offense as it is unintended.>
Brand new JCCC cruiser here. I admit I was pretty much unprepared for the experience that was JCCC4. I loved the idea of a cruise (love cruises!) in the Caribbean (love the sun and beaches!) and a bunch of like-minded folks doing like-minded fun things (woohoo, fitting in!). The actual experience was… kind of a mixed bag, to be honest. There were a ton of fun things to do, but really feeling like I was part of the group was kind of hit-or-miss. So many people were already so connected with each other and knowledgeable about cruise ins-and-outs! It was a little (a lot?) like being the new kid at school in the middle of the school year. Factor this along with the packed schedule (that is, minimal time for alone-time to recharge), and I ended up doing a lot of fluctuating between joy (Sloop John B – AWESOME) and misery (standing alone at the farewell cocktail party with no one else to talk to).
Part of it was my own fault — I’m introverted to a fault, and terrified of being rejected. This made me especially resistant to proactively “joining” any group/activity requiring interaction. However, I think part of it is also attributable to the fact that I wasn’t prepared for how established JCCC was — so much insider knowledge I didn’t have! And I didn’t get Twitt-arr up and running until mid-week, so I felt a little disconnected in general.
I definitely know that I have to take the initiative and reach out to others, but I would also like to make a few suggestions for future noobs who might be in my same boat:
1) Place a greater emphasis on the benefit of checking out the JCCC Facebook page and this forum prior to cruising for the first time. I only found these after the cruise, and they would have been WAY more helpful prior to getting on the boat. I would almost consider them “required reading.”
2) More newbie-oriented events where new/shy folks could learn the ropes from veterans (I was excited for the meet & greet activity, but by the time we got on the boat and registered, it was over).
3) +1 about newbie-centric gaming sessions. Although my husband is a gamer champ, I’m am still learning.
4) Perhaps some kind of ongoing notes in the newsletters containing suggestions for newbies/shy people?
5) +1 for dining room table signs for groups open to new diners or not. It was a little hard to tell what tables were already locked into a specific group, and which tables just had some open spaces.
All this being said, my husband and I have already signed up for JCCC5 and I’m really excited (especially now that I have a “syllabus” to study, and a few veteran contacts!). I love the idea of a longer cruise, and now that I know what to expect I feel like it will be easier to breach my own defenses. I am also happy to help to implement any of the suggestions above or other ideas (I may be shy, but I can organize the hell out of anything – Type A, party of 1). JCCC is a supremely cool and special thing, and I feel lucky to be able to play in the sandbox. Huge thanks to the crew of Monkeys who make all this possible.