cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/12312640

Fencing is a challenging sport. It might look easy — and honestly, when I first joined, it was. In about a week I was able to beat every kid in the beginner class. But it only stayed easy for a little while. The difficult thing about fencing is the mental demand. I had to learn so many moves, constantly had to keep my posture in check, to guess my opponent's next moves, and correspond accordingly. What made the mental and physical exertion worse was, at one point, every person surrounding me while fencing seemed better than me. They were fast, their posture was perfect, and they could do multiple things at once.

I was on the verge of quitting. I couldn't beat any kid in the advanced class, and I was too embarrassed to fence them. But one day I decided to just watch them. I should have been considering how much they actually practiced. The students weren't born pro fencers — they put in effort every day. They never slacked off. I saw that the only way to overcome a challenge is to have the mindset to do so. Now it's been two years since I joined fencing. Every day, I try. I practice to the best of my abilities. I was able to fence and defeat my first advanced opponent, and I was invited to the advanced class.

Fencing has taught me that challenges can appear anywhere, and you can't just give up. The only way to reach your goal is to face it. Don't quit because you can't do it; try harder and overcome it. Thanks to fencing, I've learned that I'm the only person who can control my life.

— Misheel Tamir

It's an unprecedented – and massive – experiment: Since 2017 the U.S.-based charity GiveDirectly has been providing thousands of villagers in Kenya what's called a "universal basic income" – a cash grant of about $50, delivered every month, with the commitment to keep the payments coming for 12 years. It is a crucial test of what many consider one of the most cutting-edge ideas for alleviating global poverty. This week a team of independent researchers who have been studying the impact released their first results.

I've always been a fencesitter when it comes to having kids. I'm getting to a point where I think I'd like to have a kid. I don't know if it's because I really want one, or there's just nothing major left on the list of life accomplishments and it's a societal expectation.

The thing is, I can think of a million and one reasons not to have one and can't put into words why I would want one. However, I'm starting to have a nagging feeling that I want to start trying. I just don't know if that feeling is something I actually want, or just society telling me I should.

It doesn't help that I don't have a lot of small children I regularly interact with, so I honestly don't have a clue what life would look like after kids, beyond it being a lot of stress and hard work. It also doesn't help my spouse says it's my choice and they'll go along with whatever I want .

Any advice or things that helped you know it was the right choice/time for you to expand your family?

I got my father-in-law for the family secret Santa this year. He's super into Marvel/comics and I was thinking of getting him a marvel/superhero themed board game he can play with the family. Google returned a bunch of different options for Marvel themed games, but I can't tell which are good or bad.

What games would you recommend for gifting?