Chillax...

As I read the first article about chillaxing, I could relate to my experience in youth work. I used to work at Roger Williams Middle School as a college counselor and advisor. I shared an office space with PASA and City Year. During that school year, City Year received a grant to reconstruct the school space. The school was facing understaffing challenges, especially with social workers, which affected students' behavior. The students voiced their desire to City Year for a classroom space where they could hang out with their friends during lunch and advisory periods.

City Year found an empty classroom near the lunch room and transformed it into a hang-out space. The classroom featured tents, fairy lights, bean bags, and lamps. The students enjoyed this calming space, where they could express their emotions, complete school work, and connect with their classmates. However, one of the administrators eventually decided that the space was not productive, and the chillax room was repurposed into a health classroom filled with desks.

The author states, "Programs such as New Urban Arts are under pressure to prove that they use time effectively to transform “troubled youth,” that young people in creative youth development programs are doing something far more productive than chillaxing.” (pg.87)  Some folks may view students chillaxing as lazy. When administration took away the chill space they stripped students of their sense of belonging, and the room became their safe space to dissociate from the outside world. 

In the second reading, I found the concept of pleasure activism particularly interesting. This term was new to me. Adrienne sheds light on the combination of these words—pleasure being a feeling of happiness and satisfaction, and activism involving the promotion of political, social, and economic concerns. By introducing pleasure activism, we can foster a space for healing and open dialogue around advocacy. As I continue working in the field of youth work, I would like to embrace pleasure activism, as this approach can be effectively implemented in a chillax space.