Storytelling is everything

If we don’t tell our stories, someone else will.

And they will probably get it wrong.

So wrong.

I’ve traveled across the United States training and encouraging people to share their stories.

That work was aimed at creating change within the political system, and more specifically—to humanize the experience of people living in poverty.

Because rarely do we learn from statistics, numbers, charts, and graphs.

No matter how scathing, sad, or glaring they are. (Surely you’ve seen any inequality chart.)

I found myself saying this sentence over and over again:

𝙄𝙛 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡.

I don’t think it was an original line, but it has helped shape what I do.

And who I am.

I share my stories of failure, fatigue, breakdown, and rebound for a reason:

I don’t want to be alone in the world.

And I want you to know that you are not alone in this world.

Mental Health Awareness month has been “celebrated” in America since 1949.

Though we’ve clearly made great strides against stigma, it persists and festers through our workplaces, personal spaces, the political sphere, and beyond.

The greatest tools we have to combat this, the greatest gifts we have to come closer to one another are our stories.

What’s your story?

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#peanutbutterpurpose

#nonconformist

#workingartistmother

#mentalhealth

#mentalhealthawarenessmonth

#storytelling