Day 18: Telling Old Stories to New Friends

"Stories are what makes the world go round :)" - Jane

Honestly, who doesn't love a great story? We all have them but sometimes don't always appreciate how interesting our stories may be. When something happens to you, it becomes a part of your life. It can become easy to forget or simply never realize how amazing and interesting that situation or experience truly is. 

I'm always asking my friends to tell me stories of their travels, embarrassing moments, or any great story they feel like sharing. And I in return, love to share my own stories. Sometimes, however, you run out of new people to share your stories with, especially when it's a personal, emotional one that you don't just run around telling random people. Some stories seem to lose their fire, and personally, I often start questioning whether the events actually happened at all or if I just dreamed them up.

This is true with many of my study abroad stories. I start telling them, and then either I or my audience question, "wait, that's so cool, did that actually happen?" Yes, it did. I have to remind myself that just because I'm 22 and a recent college graduate doesn't mean I can't have amazing life experiences and memories. There is no age where life 'begins'...you're already living it. In this same manner of thinking, there is no time where interesting stories cease to be interesting, you just have to find the right audience.

Friday at lunch, I was able to share some of my favorite abroad stories with Shannon, and it was so exhilarating to share them with someone new. There are parts of my life I just assume people know about and forget that many of these people actually have no idea. It was fun to realize a few of those parts of my life that my fellow intern had no idea about and have her be genuinely interested to hear the stories. 

Telling stories to a fresh set of ears helps me remember the heart and emotion of an experience. Whether that emotion is good or bad, it's still good to remember how it felt. If you haven't experienced a great love in a while, a love story can give fresh hope. If things are going seemingly perfect, it can be good to tell a not so happy story. One to remind yourself that these good time also come with bad and to fully appreciate the good times while they're here. Stories remind me of where I've been, what I've experienced, and how far I've come and also give me drive to live each day to it's fullest so I have more great stories to share :)

Life is a series of amazing stories. Who do you share yours with?

My first ski experience...one of my favorite yet
most embarrassing stories to share.

Some of my best stories come from or begin in Scotland.