Saturday, January 21, 2017

AM I TELLING A STORY OR DID THEY TELL US THIS HOMEWORK WAS DUE WEDNESDAY???

When I hear storytelling, several things come to my mind. I think of someone telling a lie. Then, I think of someone telling the truth with a twist/exaggeration. I think of my grandparents, and then I think of myself.
I do not think storytelling is restricted to a certain age, but I do think it is a talent. When some people tell their stories, you are automatically glued and it seems as if interest dominates time, other obligations, etc. But then there are people who take forever to finish their story and to call it anything other than boring, would be a story.
The crazy part is different thoughts come to my mind when I think about the word story. When I first thought about the word, I thought about my childhood. In this case, I thought about my mother. I do not remember her reading me stories, but she told me she did. I imagine the stories my mother reading to me being a source of encouragement. I imagine her using storytelling as a bonding moment. I imagine this class pulling out stories from within us that other people can relate to.
I have questioned how I could forget the moments my mother read me stories. But, I have learned that some stories/memories just need to be written. As much as we want to remember, a part of telling/sharing a story is so it will not be forgotten.
To me, digital storytelling is about doing what Dr. Zamora loves “being open.” The reason why people choose to engage in digital storytelling is the real question. I would like to think people love the fact it can encourage others, other people help you to proclaim I have a story, and other people help you to label yourself as a UNIQUE STORYTELLER!


6 comments:

  1. There are so many "thought sparks" offered here Quanesha! I love how you open with an allusion to the curious relationship between storytelling and lying, ...perhaps we "lie" in order to get to a deeper truth. (An irony worth considering, no?). Also, you point to the inherent relationship between stories and memory. What work do stories do to seal a shared memory? And finally, you point to writing. There might be all kinds of stories that float through our minds and that we half-keep in our complex consciousness, but what happens when we write them down? How is that different? Looking forward to exploring these ideas with all of you.

    Thanks for your thoughtful blog post!

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  2. To answer your blog post title (which fits in my category of eye-catching titles), the answer to both is "yes."

    Thanks for the insightful questions on storytelling, and I often think it's best to not have a precise answer, but to keep it as an ongoing question. Maybe, to paraphrase a different context from a Supreme Court Justice, we know it when we hear it. Or better, when we *feel* it.

    Maybe stories connect us to our experiences (because memory is imperfect, and frankly, whether true or not, our created story is more interesting than a recording played back) and to each other.

    I'm looking forward to following your stories.

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  3. Interesting that "lying" is what pops into your head, first, eh?
    :)
    I think most storytelling fabricate or add details to give a little oomph to their narratives, and where the line is between outright lies (such as "alternative facts" now being uttered by the president's office) and embellishments is an awfully tricky one to navigate.
    Sincerely,
    Kevin

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