cellio | answers, part 4

This seems to be the last of the questions.

Aside from seeing friends, what do you currently get out of participating in the SCA?

Seeing friends is a big part of it, certainly. I enjoy the shared context and similar interests even if a particular gathering doesn't involve a lot of people who are already friends, though I have grown less inclined to just randomly go to a distant event where I don't know anyone. Part of that is that I'm too introverted; when I have done that, I've had trouble really fitting in.

I enjoy the opportunities to do neat things that come with the SCA, whether it's music, cooking, making things, or whatever. I enjoy fiddling with the stuff for the Pennsic camp. I like having people around who might be interested if I give them something based on, say, a 14th-century English recipe. (Non-SCA friends may be just as likely to enjoy the food, but won't care about the source for the most part.)

The SCA also provides a lot of variety. I've done a lot of things in my time in the SCA, few of them for intensely for more than 5 or 6 years. But that list includes dance, fighting, archery, illumination, music (still going), brewing, cooking, autocratting, editing newsletters, and more. What other social group has that variety? If you've already got the group of friends, it's easier to pick up new activities. Contrast that with, say, joining the JCC because you want to take swimming classes, and hooking up with the contra-dance folks to do country dancing, and joining a book club to discuss literature.

(Just to clarify, when I say the "SCA" does something, I'm referring to the society -- the collection of people. The corporation doesn't do any of this stuff.)