Welcome to Learning Event #4 (#LE4) for #WalkMyWorld 2021. In this journey we’ll think about the story of you…told from past, present, and future.

Stories are generally considered to be a narrative of connecting events (either actual or imaginary) presented in a sequence of written or spoken words…in still or moving images.

Kurt Vonnegut believed that there is only one basic shape to a story, all else is a variation. Vonnegut posits that stories move from beginning to entropy, and contain movement between good and ill-fortune.

Sometimes stories are happy. Sometimes stories are a cautionary tale. Sometimes stories offer us an opportunity for transformation.

WRITE

Take a blank piece of paper and draw a vertical line on the far left of the page. Draw a second line horizontally in the middle of the page.

Create a diagram showing the shape of the story from the video below. If needed, annotate your diagram to identify plot points at key events in the narrative.

Let’s continue this examination of a shape of a story, but thinking about a story that is possibly even more meaningful to you…the shape of your story. 

What challenges exist when the story is about you?

Part of the challenge in identifying the shape of my story is that many of us feel that we’re in the middle of the story. It is a challenge to separate out hopes and dreams from reality. Self-improvement may come into conflict with the items on the resume or Facebook profile.

Think of the events of your life and how you got to the present. What dreams and ambitions still remain?

How do the stories you tell shape who you are?

Write a poem that shares the shape of my story and include any reflections or contextual information you believe is important. There is no need to dig deep and include granular elements at this point as you share your story. Just as you diagrammed the shape of a story above, this retelling of the shape of your story should capture the series of connecting events.

CONNECT

After you finish your poem…share this out with others.

You should share this out on Twitter as Write.As using the hashtag #WalkMyWorld. You should also include the hashtag #LE4 to indicate your response to this second learning event.

If you’re interested, we do have a semi-private group in Flipgrid for sharing and discussing this year. Send me an email and I’ll bring you in.

Enjoy…and let’s connect with each other online.

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graffiti flickr photo by duncan shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC) license

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