Storytelling

This week was very interesting because the stories that I’ve read about and listen to. I was at times wrapped up and very intrigued in the stories from my classmates. What I can take from listening to these stories without speaking or giving ongoing feedback, is that I found myself almost reliving their stories as if I was there. There’s an emotional connection when you get out of the way of the storyteller, by not interrupt or taking your attention off the story. It’s almost like being in a dream. I discovered that I was able to put things together within a story because I was deeply engaged in it. My focus was so intense that I was able to put pieces in a story that wasn’t explained to me during the story. Also, when you’re completely silent and engaged, you can feel the emotions within the storyteller intensify as they’re telling their story. I did however feel as though I was leaving the storyteller hanging at times, with me not giving any feedback.  

The stories I listen to, had a lot of passion and self-desire, as there was a will for things to happen in the story teller’s favor. The stories uncovered truths about the storyteller and at times an emotional release. The silence, although uncomfortable for seconds at a time, really pressed the story teller to go deeper within the story, which led to things that the storyteller may not have wanted to tell. I felt that the stories I listened to were unique and fulfilling to me because I was so engaged in what was being said. Even the beginning of the stories, carries its own suspense because of not knowing what the story will be about.

My story was about the time I was in Columbia and found myself in a night club with two drug dealers and afterwards saw a woman laying motionless on the ground from what I could assume being hit by a car. The start of this story seems worrisome and sad, which it was but the way I told it, brought some entertaining light to it. First, I don’t believe the woman died or know for sure if she was hit by a car or just drunk in the streets holding up traffic. It was a long night and I didn’t have much fun, but the strangest and uncomfortable situations kept occurring. I believe it made for a good story, not because of what happen but because of how I was telling it. I’ve told this story before a few times, so I kind of knew what type of reaction to expect, which is usually a shocked, humorous and relieved one. The listener was shocked to hear about these dangerous situations happening but relived that no harm was done to me and possibly the lady laying in the street. Also, the reaction of humor because of the humorous way I told the story.

I think its inappropriate to tell certain stories, in certain settings, such as a sad story in an uplifting environment. I think the setting matters and the way you tell a story matters to it being appropriate to tell. I also think that telling a story about someone else’s experience whether good or especially bad can be inappropriate if that individual isn’t ok with it being told. People must tell their own stories because no one will give a person’s story the amount of passion and emotion that the individual themselves will give. This is because an individual relives their experience when telling their story, another person doesn’t have the ability to do that, when telling a story for someone else, even if they were a physical witness at the time of the events. They wouldn’t be able to duplicate how that individual was feeling, which would be displayed in how they would tell the story.