Their powerful stories took shape as short films. The young people who participated told personal stories of surviving and thriving in the aftermath of economic hardship, difficult relationships, teenage pregnancy, sexual assault, and sexually transmitted infections. Stories created during the five-day workshop were recorded in seven different local languages- a record number of different languages in a single workshop, in the 21-year history of the Center for Digital Storytelling. The workshop brought nine young people from regions around the country together to share stories about their sexual and reproductive health.
You may not be those other people, but your life will never be the same because of them, either.In June 2014, the Marie Stopes International Ghana No Yawa project collaborated with the Center for Digital Storytelling’s Silence Speaks program to organize the first-ever digital storytelling workshop in Ghana. The parts of your life that have been shaped by others - for better and for worse - have made you the person you are now. Because when other people’s decisions affect who you are and who you become, then I think it can only make sense to share those pieces that connect. This has kept me out of much of the “drama” of growing up, yet it doesn’t really complete me in situations like the one I just described. Because really, is it my business to share the details of anyone’s life but my own? Normally, I’d say “no.” I’m often a pretty private person, gleaning more pleasure from protecting my loved ones than gossiping about them. In his case, especially, is his mother’s addiction his to share since it has, no doubt, affected who he is? But mostly, it is painful to watch my brother - someone I care so deeply about - constantly have to swim through the waves that someone else creates in his life. For a few moments, we were unsure if we’d even find her alive. This kind of frantic search for his mom is not unfamiliar to him, but for certain reasons I won’t share today, it was the scariest one yet.
TELLING MY STORY OVER BLOG FULL
Last week, I spent much of the day with my brother (half by blood, full by heart), searching for his mom who had gone on an alcoholic binge days after being kicked out of her rehabilitation center. Something tells me that many of you out there have similar stories that define who you are - perhaps based on your own choices, or even more likely, not. I ask this question because, my family - though good at hiding our shortcomings - is filled with all sorts of people, from addicts and alcoholics to abusers and abandoners. So, when do someone else’s stories and decisions become ours to tell? If you were to tell someone why you are the way you are, leaving out those pieces of your past would be like giving someone a memoir without the first ten chapters. Yet, their decisions alter our lives in profound ways. These stories don’t reflect our own choices, right? I mean, you didn’t abandon yourself and you’re not the one in rehab. Or perhaps your younger sister is in rehab and it pushes you to become a psychologist so you can help people like her one day. Maybe you grew up without a dad, and now have a subconscious fear of abandonment. Your insecurities, fears, even dreams and aspirations are, most often, created by your environment and the people who shape it. No doubt, the tales and choices of your family, friends, and anyone else that you spend time with, can eventually change who you are. Normally, this might be called, “gossip.” But are there times when it’s not? What happens when the line blurs - when someone else’s life defines your own? But did you write them all yourself or did other people influence the decisions and circumstances that make up the essence of you? As a human being–and most of all–as a writer, I find a particular question constantly begging for my attention: Is it my story to tell?īecause we’re often faced with the decision of whether or not we want to discuss the realities of other people in our writing or conversations. You’ve got a past and tons of stories that make you who you are.
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