On March 15, the High Library held the Fake Fireplace, Real Conversation talk on its main floor at 7:30 p.m. By using The Fake Fireplace, Real Conversations Instagram account, this event facilitates student reunions and talks about discussion topics which are published on the day before the event.
Many people find solace in this way around the High Library fireplace and know they are not alone. For a few hours, others might view it as a way to unwind and listen to others talk.
“What are the words or intentional actions that keep you going when things get tough?” Graphic design major Hannah Schilling asked to start the conversation.
“Pain is temporary,” second-year public health major Schumy J. Pascal said. “It gets me through the day knowing what I feel will not last forever.”
Many of the attendees shared words that also got them through the hardships of life. One commented on how she maintains her sanity by talking to her friend about how she feels. “Yapping is a must in friendships,” she said, referring to talking about everything and anything—a need to express one’s inner feelings.
“What words or actions shut you down?” Rev. Amy Shorner-Johnson, the chaplain of Elizabethtown College, asked.
The follow-up question made everyone think deeply about their responses and it took a certain period of time for people to start speaking up. “I do not know what shuts me down exactly, I mostly just shut down and stay in my own zone without any specific reasons some of the time,” an attendee said while sipping a cup of tea provided at the Fake Fireplace, Real Conversation. “Maybe because I am an introvert, and my walls are too high for people to reach me and shut me down.”
As many agreed with this statement, others had other opinions and perspectives on the question being asked. Third-year social work major Sheridan Smink explained by saying “people who think they know exactly how you feel when you know that they do not” make her shut down easily.
“Because everyone goes through trials and hardships differently than others, no one could understand how you feel better than yourself,” an attendee exclaimed, sitting on a bean bag enjoying their time listening to the open-ended conversations happening.
For the last discussion question, participants were asked, “What speaks to you personally and what do you think works for groups?”
Poetry, music, and creativity were the things that everyone said that spoke to them the most. How it feels good to read or write something that you have made by yourself based on your feelings. The way it speaks to your soul even after years of not reading any type of work you have produced.
“I get very passionate with my books and find it hard to make other people touch them,” Smink said.
The Fake Fireplace, Real Conversation has brought many people together to just enjoy the evening and talk freely in a safe space. Those reflections help students evacuate their feelings by talking and not feeling judged but instead listened to by others.
The Fake Fireplace, Real Conversations weekly meeting takes place on the High Library main floor every Thursday from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., right by the cozy fake fireplace. All are welcome to join, whether they want to participate in a conversation or simply relax with some candy, tea or hot cocoa. For further details about the meetings or to learn about the daily discussion topics, visit their Instagram page @etownff.
