What's Your Story?

This is a fundamental question to ask yourself, your story not only makes you who you are, but it inspires others to figure out who they are. Which, I believe, is the purpose of life. Whether your story has all the positives or possibly all the negatives, your story matters. Everyone tells stories about themselves, defining us, making us who we are. To know someone is to know their story, their background, their essence. Think about it, when we want to know someone better, we ask to hear about their childhood, their families, their beliefs, and so on.

However, there are cases where you know your story all too well, but do not know how to deliver it, making it hard to digest for people. For instance, it's like reading a book, you do not open the book, and bullet points break down what the story is about; you are taken on a ride. You either fall in love with the characters or hate the characters, the storyline relates to you somehow, or because it wasn't explicitly laid out for the reader, it goes over their heads, making them feel as though the story is pointless or useless. But, hear me clear, just because your story doesn't make sense to others doesn't mean you should stop telling it or even writing it.

Creating and telling our stories help us believe in ourselves, a sense of reassurance that our plans make sense, similar to a guide or helping hand. Have you watched a Ted Talk, and the person delivering the message gives you a story of their life? As you watch the entirety of the video, you learned something about the person and something about yourself and the world around you. Storytelling allows us to find our own footing, knowing that the experiences we have lived through a just small pieces in the bigger picture, that allows us to keep moving forward and inspiring others along the way.

Figure out your story, because it makes you who you are. Understand that you can affect change within yourself and through others, we exist to build great things.

Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people. But stories can also repair that broken dignity. ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie