The Power of a Story

“Every person’s story has power, and when you learn to be okay with your story, and accept your story, it can help other people.”
- Sandra V. (a friend, former co-worker, and one of my first clients)

When I heard Sandra say this in the telling of her story, it stopped me in my tracks, because it resonated with me on such a deep and profound level. My motto (which you can see prominently displayed on the Home page of my website) has always been that everyone deserves the chance to tell their story, and every story deserves to be told. I think we often fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to other people, which can lead to feelings of inferiority and unworthiness. “Who would want to hear my story?” “I don’t have any stories worth telling.” “Nobody understands my experience anyway.” But as Sandra’s statement so eloquently reminded me, it is so important for us to push past these self-doubts and share our stories anyway, because our stories do hold incredible power, whether we realize it or not.

How many times have you heard or read someone’s story and felt the impact of that story for days, weeks, months, even years to come? Do you think the person who shared that story knew that their story would have that effect on anyone? We tend to consider other people’s stories as sources of wisdom, hope, and inspiration. Whether a story comes from a famous figure in society, from a respected elder of your family, or from your friend, neighbor, classmate, co-worker, or random acquaintance, every story you hear has the potential to completely change your life. We’ve all had experiences in our lives that we feel alone in navigating, and stories have the power to instantly change that. When you hear someone tell their story of going through the exact same thing you’re going through, you instantly feel connected to that person. Their story can make you feel validated and less alone in your experience, and give you the reassurance that at least one other person out there has been through it and understands. We seek out these stories, whether we realize it or not. When we’re struggling, we look for support from communities of people who have experienced similar struggles. Support groups, friends, family members, online villages: all of these are sources we turn to for the comfort and support of people’s stories.

We can only receive these stories if people are willing to share them. You may feel completely alone in your experience, until you hear someone else’s story of having the exact same experience. But you only find that connection if that person shares their story. So it stands to reason that the same is true of you, as well. If you choose to share your story, you never know who it might reach, who might desperately need to hear it, who might be out there searching for that connection, that validation, that comfort. You could literally save someone’s life without even knowing it. This is the power that our stories carry - the power of connection and shared humanity. Your story is worthy. YOU are worthy. You deserve the chance to tell your story, to forge that connection, to have your voice heard. And your story deserves to be told, to have its power shared, to take its rightful place in the common story of humanity. So share your stories, with anyone willing to receive them. You never know what good you might be doing!

Origins

Anyone who knows me (or who’s read the About section) knows that I’ve been infatuated with people’s stories for my entire life. I’ve dabbled in some personal historian work several times in the past, and I’ve done a fair amount of both genealogical research and personal story collection within my own family. So you may be wondering what prompted me to start this business now? The answer is multi-faceted, of course, but aside from the situational alignment (being stuck at home in the midst of a pandemic, and losing my full-time job because of it), the biggest influence in my decision to make a real go at this was my grandma.

My grandma is 85 years old, and she has lived a very eventful and interesting life. Many times over the years, I’ve suggested that she should write a book about her life, and according to her, I’m not the only one. I had a conversation with her shortly before the pandemic began, in which she told me yet another wild story of something that happened to her recently, and when I reiterated that she should really write a book, she said that everyone tells her that, but that she doesn’t think she’s a good enough writer. Then she said that she would love it if I would write her book. At the time, I was working full-time and raising a 4-year-old and an infant, and I told her that as much as I would love to do it, I just didn’t have the time.

Fast forward a few months - Covid hit, the world shut down. I found myself suddenly with some free time in the evenings, and that conversation with my grandma still percolating in my mind. I called her one day and told her that I wanted to do it. We scheduled a weekly phone call, which started off as a somewhat structured interview, but quickly morphed into a more organic storytelling experience. I spent the nights between our calls transcribing the recording of that week’s call. That was in June. It’s December now, and we are still having our weekly calls. We’ve moved into a review phase, where I’m reading the transcription back to her, and she’s filling in gaps, making corrections when necessary, and adding stories and information she may have left out on the first go-round. It’s still in very rough form, and it will still take a while for me to edit and refine it into a book, but the process itself has been such an amazing journey! I thought I already knew a lot about my grandma’s life, and I did, but I have learned SO much more about not just the events of her life, but about who she is, where she comes from, and how her experiences have made her the person she is today. I feel incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to get to know her so intimately, and it has rekindled the spark of the passion I’ve always had for people’s stories.

Several months into this experience with my grandma, I had started thinking about doing something about this personal historian career idea. I had briefly mentioned it to my husband, but hadn’t really said anything to anyone else. Then, one day, I was perusing Facebook, and I saw that a friend had posted something about wanting to share her story. I already knew a little bit of her story (we were co-workers at one time, and she had told me a little bit about her background then), but the timing felt so serendipitous! Even though I hadn’t officially done anything about starting my personal historian business (or even decided if I was definitely going to), I felt compelled to comment on her post and mention that this was something I was thinking about doing, and that I’d love to help her share her story. She immediately responded, and that was the unofficial start of The Personal Yourstorian. Days later, I mentioned the idea in passing to another friend, and she said that she might also be interested in my services. I now had two potential clients, and I hadn’t even started doing anything to create the business yet!

It was another few months before I officially got the ball rolling on creating the business. In the meantime, I started working on my former co-worker’s project as kind of a test run for how my services would operate. It’s a much smaller scope project than my grandma’s, but it’s equally engaging and inspiring. The spark that my grandma’s project rekindled has blossomed into a full, bright-burning flame, and I am so excited to keep fueling my passion!

My motto is that everyone deserves the chance to tell their story, and every story deserves to be told. I believe that telling our stories is a crucial part of the human experience. It not only allows our legacy to be remembered for generations to come, but also fosters connection between generations, and more importantly, between individual people. We are all products of those who came before us, and every person we meet along the way has a role in shaping our lives and the people we become. The more we know their stories, the more we understand about them, and ultimately, about ourselves. Sharing our stories can help both ourselves and other people in more ways than we can imagine. I would be so honored if you would choose to share your story with me, and allow me to help you share it with whatever audience you want to reach.