Sunday, October 15, 2017

Telling Your Story Prompts

I belong to this amazing Facebook scrapbook group called "The Scrap Gals" run by Tracie Claiborne and Tiffany Lowder. Tracie and Tiffany host a weekly podcast called "The Scrap Gals" where they discuss all things scrapbooking. They have a fun, easy rapport and laugh a lot as they talk about the importance of memory keeping. The conversations continue in their Facebook group as we talk about their podcasts and discuss challenges and triumphs of scrapbooking.

I have noticed that a lot of women struggle with scrapping their own stories. They wonder what they could scrap about if they don't have kids or if their kids are grown up. Sometimes their lives are relatively simple and they wonder if they have enough to scrap about it if they don't travel a lot. I have actually noticed this phenomenon for many years among the scrapbook community. It is easy to understand. A lot of women start scrapping when they marry or when they start having children. It kind of has the hallmarks of a mom hobby. Which is fine. I scrap a lot of stories about my kids and with six kids, I have a lot of fodder.

But I think the reluctance to scrap about oneself also stems from centuries and centuries of women's stories being repressed and ignored. Many women authors in the past had to publish under pseudonyms or anonymously to be taken seriously. Women's stories and contributions to history were all but ignored--unless they behaved "badly" or outside of the cultural norm. Even within religious texts like the Bible, women's stories are hidden. Even today, we have many instances where the experiences and stories of women are not believed-especially when it comes to sexual harassment and assault. Is it any wonder that women are reluctant to share their stories?

The other aspect of not telling one's story is the perception that one's personal story isn't important or valuable enough to tell. How many women have you met that have said, "I'm just a mom. I'm not very special. I don't lead a very exciting life. I just work at a normal job. Or I just feed and clothe my family."  And the excuses go on and on.

I believe, so passionately, that every woman has an important story to tell about herself. Each woman has a unique set of circumstances and experiences that have shaped her into a distinct and important individual. I also believe in the importance and power of storytelling. I believe that storytelling affects generations and when we choose not tell our stories, we are depriving our family and friends of the wisdom and importance of our personal stories.

Back to The Scrap Gals facebook group. For the past couple of weeks, I have been posting a story prompt each day. I try to make these story prompts neutral so that everyone can share a story whether or not they are married or have children. It's my hope that they will motivate my fellow scrapbookers to see their lives as scrap worthy.

So far I have asked the following questions:

What are you good at?
What is the best vacation you have ever taken?
What traditions do you have for the fall season? Do those traditions vary from when you were a child?
Are you a pet person? Do you have a pet or a pet story?
Do you enjoy reading? If so what are some favorite authors or books you enjoy?
What is a special friend you have never scrapped about? What makes/made your relationship important and special? Are you still friends? Why or why not?
How did you get the job you have now?
What is something you wish you knew about a loved one who has passed? And how would you turn that question around to yourself?
Tell me about a time when you lost something like a competition, a race, or some object important to you?
What is your Sunday routine?
Have you moved a lot, a little, or never?
Exercise and sports: how do you feel about those things? Like, love, or hate them? Did you do sports in school?
What was your favorite toy from childhood?
What was a favorite food you enjoyed as a child? What is the story behind it?
What are you bad at?
What is a lesson you learned from going through a challenge?

I have so enjoyed the comments and discussions our group has had. The stories have sparked so many memories and ideas for me. I plan to start making 6x8 Project Life app pages to answer these questions for myself. At the end, I should have an amazing book about my own life.







3 comments:

halomom said...

Tiffany, I appreciate you posting these story prompts in our Scrap Gals Facebook group! You really started some great conversations! I love when the "lightbulb" suddenly comes on and someone says, "This would make a great page!" 🤣💜

Mary Jo said...

This is such a good post with some interesting points. I think hearing Ali Edwards say her scrapbooking is her story and everyone else are characters in her story was really eye opening.
I am looking forward to telling more of my own stories.

Laura C said...

Even though I didn't post all the time on your prompts, I read them and thought about them in my head. THANK YOU for doing this. And I love this blog post. You are so spot on right!