uBuddies Sharing

Last year I was one of the uBuddies in charge of the promotion art fair booth, and we had some really pretty souvenirs prepared to distribute to passersby. However, I actually wasn’t planning on going out. I was just planning to stay in my comfortable spot in the booth and not talk to strangers at all.

But then while I was comfortable with what I was doing, one of the other uBuddies started her shift. The first thing she did was take the fliers off the desk, and start walking out to the main road.

Shocked at what she was doing, I asked her where she was headed. She told me, confident and reassured, “I’m going to give these out.” Now, I don’t know if any of you have given out fliers to strangers before, but it’s terrifying. And when she said it so casually, I suddenly felt inspired.

Later, I went out with her to go and give out the souvenirs, and then we started chatting with strangers and promoting our team, and that’s when I realised that this is a place where you can feel comfortable and safe with your new friends. But if you want to feel inspired, if you want to be braver, if you want to grow, there will be people here who could inspire you to do more.

So I want to thank everyone I've met this year for pushing me to do more and for being genuinely really good people. This acknowledges all of our hard work and kindness. I think I was only able to do this much because of how warm and caring everyone was. I was able to explore more, and hopefully others can do so in their time here too.

- Ava, Best uBuddies 2023