As time went by my hands started to shake and my chest to unsettle. It felt like a healthy sensation though, as if it was asking me to let something out.
Hearing Heaven’s story, and the three other brave girls who shared their experiences in school during the SISta Story Slam had a profound impact on me. These girls, by sharing their stories, helped me understand my own privilege in a new way.
Your identity is a collection of moments. It is your understanding of those moments and the meanings that you infuse into them. By understanding your story, you can better understand your identity. You can actually change the way you view yourself by developing your own personal story.
I just spent a weekend in New York City, and met with an old friend, Karuna. This reminded me of a story that I shared at a meetup many months ago. The theme of the meetup was "Thankful." In honor of this trip, I'm going to present it here:
Storytelling builds empathy. When we hear a story shared by someone about their life experiences, we come to see the world from someone else’s point of view.
As I walked out on stage in front of over 1500 people, I found that I was much calmer than I expected to be. Rather than nerves taking over, I found the voice in my head saying, “you’re in front of 1500 of your closest friends.” And it turned out to be true.
What is that you do that you get so excited about and invested in that you forget to eat? Follow that passion. When you follow your heart, you will be ready to fly.
Thanks to a grant from the UF Medical Guild, Self Narrate will be partnering with UFHealth Shands Rehabilitation hospital throughout 2016 to provide a story-based initiative at the hospital, recording stories every week.
