Fansided

25 ways to spend these summer months without NBA basketball

By Matt Rutkowski

Jul 17, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; The Portland Trail Blazers pose for photos after winning the NBA Summer League Championship game by defeating the New York Knicks 85-77 at Thomas & Mack Center. Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 17, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; The Portland Trail Blazers pose for photos after winning the NBA Summer League Championship game by defeating the New York Knicks 85-77 at Thomas & Mack Center. Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports /
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Several organizations are teaming up to provide opportunities from all people in the Greenville-Spartanburg area. The organization are:Baloo Ridge Outdoor Explorations is a diverse company that focuses on people of color connecting with nature. Upstate Pride SC is a nonprofit organization that empowers people of all genders expressions and sexual identities.Uplift Outreach Center provides a safe space for Queer Youth in Spartanburg County.Gre Baloo Ridge07
Several organizations are teaming up to provide opportunities from all people in the Greenville-Spartanburg area. The organization are:Baloo Ridge Outdoor Explorations is a diverse company that focuses on people of color connecting with nature. Upstate Pride SC is a nonprofit organization that empowers people of all genders expressions and sexual identities.Uplift Outreach Center provides a safe space for Queer Youth in Spartanburg County.Gre Baloo Ridge07 /

8. Break gender norms

There are a lot of reasons why being alive exactly right now kind of sucks. Not just because there is no real NBA at the moment but because of, you know, if you think about it, everything. Bleh.

Thinking about everything right now probably isn’t going to help, so stop it. Instead, let’s look for things that are okay or possibly getting better. One of those things is the growing, among at least a large portion of the population, acceptance of less definitive gender norms.

There’s evidence of this in a lot of places: people publicly displaying pronouns, more public-facing people coming out and telling their stories, trans issues getting more and more inclusive coverage than even 10 years ago. It’s all very nice. You don’t have to go all the way to discovering you’re nonbinary as I have, but you can push a little bit and see what you find.

The best example I can give is the former trainer at my gym. He’s a bodybuilder, was in the navy, and played football for a D-1 college. He rocked a nice beard too. The dude could hit every traditional masculine stereotype if he wanted to, but he didn’t. The dude painted his nails too. Just because.

And “just because” is a good enough reason for this. It’s more accepted than it ever used to be. You can do it as publicly or as privately as you want. The worst that happens is you kill some time. The best is that you might actually discover something pretty cool about yourself.

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