The Summer Stretch

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A colorful painted background. In the foreground in yellow yext between two white lines: The Great Summer Stretch 2023

Are you ready for a challenge? Every year Dream Foundry runs The Summer Stretch, a program designed to stretch your creative limits. If you’ve been thinking about a creative project – in any medium! – and would like some support around planning and carrying out your big idea, join us! Try something difficult, make a plan, and whether you succeed or fail at your goal you’ll have stretched yourself and learned more about your limits.

The challenge will run from July 1-31st, but if you want to adjust those dates for your personal purposes, that’s okay!

You’ll also be able to get support and accountability in the #summer-stretch channel on the Dream Foundry Discord. If you aren’t on the Dream Foundry Discord server yet, you can join here: discord.gg/dreamfoundry

Name

First Last

Salutation

What name would you like us to call you by?

Email(Required)

Discord Name

Type of Challenge(Required)

There are two ways to challenge yourself, Binge Project, or Habit. If you're doing a Binge Project, you're challenging yourself to doing something big on a tight time frame. The primary goal is to, one way or another, get it done. If you're choosing a Habit Project, you're challenging yourself to do something a little bit challenging (nearly) every day. (As long as you're committing to at least four days a week, that's close enough.) This doesn't have to be a habit you could reasonably sustain outside the stretch period. The primary goal here is to do that thing every day during that time.

Binge Project

(Near) Daily Habit

Describe the Stretch

What, exactly, is it that you're doing? Creating a portfolio to show off a particular illustration style? Major revisions on a novel? Filling up a buffer of completed pages for your webcomic? Spell out what you're committing to here.

Is this challenge hard?(Required)

Is this challenge something that's going to be hard to achieve? Is it beyond what you're comfortable with or have managed before? Is there a real risk you aren't going to manage it? If your answer here is "no," then consider trying a different challenge.

Yes

Metric for Measuring the Stretch(Required)

How will you know you've achieved the stretch? Word count? Amount of time per day spent on the project? Specify that here.

What obstacles do you foresee?(Required)

What is your plan for making sure it gets done?

Acknowledgement: This is for learning and growing

By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have committed to try something hard and which you don't necessarily think you can achieve. You accept up front that if you do fail, THAT'S OKAY, and it's proof that you really were pushing yourself to learn. Failure is hard and it's always disappointing when you don't achieve something you tried. Checking this box means that you're going into this knowing that the experience of trying is what matters most, and you'll focus on that experience whatever the outcome of your challenge.

Acknowledged!

Demographics

Fill out optional Demographics Questions?(Required)

We track demographic information from participants across all of our programs. This helps us make sure we're reaching our audiences. It is also useful for reporting in grant applications and other sources of funding we engage. It is completely optional to provide any information.

Yes

Do you live in Illinois?

Yes

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Agender

Cis

Female

Genderfluid

Genderqueer

Intersex

Male

Man

Non-binary

Trans

Two-spirit

Woman

A term I use isn't on this list

I don't use any of these terms

Orientation

Androsexual

Asexual

Bisexual

Gay

Gynosexual

Heterosexual

Homosexual

Lesbian

Pansexual

Queer

Straight

A term I use isn't on this list

I don't use any of these terms

Disability

Ablebodied

Disabled

Intermittent Disability

Invisible Disability

It's Complicated

Visible Disability

Age

Under 18

18-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65 or Above

Comments

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