Your Story Matters: Join Connecticut’s Storytelling Rave!
A Storytelling Rave?
Be A Part Of History?
Yes! Yes, We Can!
On April 5th, History Chip is hosting an All Connecticut Storytelling Rave. We are calling on folks all over Connecticut to add a story to History Chip’s archive of history. All of these stories will become part of a new avenue for understanding of the history of Connecticut, the history of America and the history of the world. History Chip, an affiliate of the America 250/Connecticut Commission, invites everyone to add stories of their experiences to the story of the world, and in this way, presents an ever expanding view of our world and our history. And this history isn’t all old dusty stories. What happened yesterday, or this morning, is all part of history. Our living history is everything that happened until just a moment ago.
The Impact of Everyday Stories on American History
Think of all the things that you did yesterday! How many stories could you tell just from yesterday? And then think back on your life. How many stories could you tell from all the years you have lived? Thousands and thousands. And maybe they aren’t big important stories, but more everyday stories or simple observations. But together, they all add to our understanding of life in our time. How many thousands of stories could we gather about how the cell phone has changed our lives? Every single one of us could respond to that with a story, or twenty! And though our stories might have similarities, they would all be different stories and collectively tell a big story. And those might individually not be big important stories, but certainly all together describe a sea change in our world. And all those stories together explain so much more than one person’s assessment of that sea change.
Now, imagine, if you will, the story of American History. What stories can we omit and still have the history of America be truthful, complete and authentic? Can we exclude women? Can we exclude poor people? Can we exclude farmers, lawyers, doctors, plumbers? Can we exclude certain ethnic groups? If so, which ones? Can we exclude those suffering from substance abuse? Can we exclude soldiers? Can we exclude immigrants? Can we exclude people of color? What if we exclude rich people? or captains of industry, or government officials? or famous performers? What if we exclude the stories of people in Connecticut, California or Colorado? Is there one of these groups of people that we can exclude and still have a full picture of life in America? Imagine if your group is the one excluded from history. Imagine now how the story of America would change if we did exclude even one of these groups.
“It’s A Wonderful Life”
The movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” brought this idea so poignantly and happily to our imaginations when we see how life would have changed had George Bailey never been born. And I think most of us have played that bit of mental gymnastics where we imagine going back in time and changing things, or even just changing one little thing and coming to terms with how drastically different life would be for a vast array of people due to our tinkering with the past.
So you see, all of our lives are important and all of the stories or our lives are important. They all need to be told. All of us need to testify to our own place on this planet. We need to stand up and say, “I was here. I did this and that.” We need to say, “This was important to me, or hard for me or wonderful for me.” We need to invite people to walk in our shoes. We need to share what life is like for us so that others can develop insights into and compassion for lives other than own. We need to understand what life is like for other people. We need to know what it is like to survive a fire or to overcome adversity like drug addiction or a bankruptcy or health problems. We need to know what it feels like to become old, or to achieve success especially when we thought none was possible. We need to know what it’s like to farm - dependent on the weather or government policies. We need to know what drives people, what makes them happy, what they want. These are all parts of our history.
People tell me all too often they don’t have any stories. Clearly, they do. We all have thousands of stories. We may think we don’t, or that we don’t know how to tell a proper story, or write a proper story. But, I ask you, don’t you tell stories every day? If someone asks you, “What did you do today?” You will have no problem telling the story of your day. Even if it’s a simple story about going to the market or walking the dog, you can easily tell it. You’ve been telling stories since you were little. It’s one of the things that we do all of our lives. You don’t have to go to the gym to get ready for it, or be rich, or skinny or have the right outfit. You don’t have to get ready. You just open you mouth and talk. How wonderful is that? You just tell your story and sometimes you might get started telling a story and it might go on and on because you find you have a great deal to say! And we need you to fill in the space reserved for you in the history of Connecticut or wherever you live. Your stories really do matter.
So, this Saturday, April 5th, stand up. Tell your story. We are calling on folks from all over Connecticut especially to add a story to History Chip’s archive of history. But we also invite storytellers from all over the U.S. and all over the world. Don’t forget, this year is special as we gear up for the American 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This anniversary is a great incentive to revive our awareness of American history and the role this little state of Connecticut plays in that history. Your stories make history more truthful. Be a Part of History Chip’s Storytelling Rave and add a story to History Chip. Your stories matter!
