Tell Me A Story
I like stories.
Fictional or not. I obviously like reading them, because I joined the Medium community. But I don’t just like reading stories. I love watching stories. Stories expressed in writing and on film whisk me away to a temporary world, a different era and often cause me to feel something.
Most of all, I enjoy listening to stories. Countless hours have been spent listening to friends, family and strangers tell compelling, emotional, humorous, informational and nonsense tales. You may think I am in it for the drama. No my friend. That’s not it. I actually think, listening to people share their stories is a gift.
Not everyone wants to hear them. Certain individuals want you to get to the point. Be direct. Don’t delay. Fast forward to the end. My favorite is when impatient people say, “bullet point for me” to humans who just want to be heard.
What’s the most important part of a story to you? For me, it’s the details. The smallest parts that make a huge difference. For example: the temperature outside, how you felt, the day of the week, where you were placed in the location, what you were wearing and which tone the statement was said in. If you don’t give them to me, I will interrupt to ask. Due to this genuine curiosity it takes verbal stories a little longer for people to finish, but I don’t mind. You ever been on a road trip and the best part is listening to the driver or a passenger tell a good story? There is something very comforting about that, to me.
My soul craves stories, so much so that I create stories about random people all the time. You ever rode past a house and created a story about the occupants? Their appearances, personalities, careers, cars, family dynamics, obstacles, health issues, and vacation plans…this happens to me all the time. Can you relate?
Sit down, get comfortable and tell me a story. I will listen intently, eager for the details to paint a masterpiece in my mind. Some of the best stories are told in disorganized parts creating a puzzle for me to piece together. Those stories are often told by children and adolescents; you can see the pure joy on one’s face when their words have been restated back to them correctly in a linear manner.
Share a story in the comments that you would like me to read. Maybe a story you are most proud of or one you want to have an exchange about.
Tell.me.a.story.
Dorothy Hines, Ph. D. Ashley Abramson Melissa A. Rowe, MEd Mobin M. Bahrami Andrew Lawlor Donna L Roberts, PhD (Psych Pstuff) Sylene "SylJoe" Joseph Max Youngquist Zack Walker Michael Rauscher Rachel Davis Haider Jamal Abbasi Tomas Mendes Diz Saeediarthompson Oum EK John Dorris Ivori Campbell Art Lu Dr. Lina Richardson Sabana Grande Alexis Ohanian Katie Couric Tony Robbins Roxane Gay The Good Men Project
