There are a few terms that have been rolling around in my head lately: One note, Single Story. They both cater to the idea of stereotypes and preconceived notions. Yesterday I had the opportunity to enjoy a show called The Whole Story, which focused on the idea of storytellers sharing various aspects of the minority experience. It relied heavily on african american narratives that did not follow the presumed cultural norms, and really forced the listeners to uncouple from their expectations and let these speakers tell a new story.
It made me hungrier to tell my story. This story is longer than ten minutes allows and spans the entirety of my life. I always jokingly refer to myself as a chocolate chip in a sugar cookie, a term that I either made up or liberated from a comedian when I was in elementary school. It fit. There were only a handful of black kids in the elementary school and one was a famous musician while another was dating the tap dance kid. Needless to say, the boulder on my shoulder took form at an early age.
It pushed me to be good at something and good for something more than having ‘really cool hair that girls like to play with’. This selling point lost its luster by grade 3. Not coincidentally, I began getting really interested in athleticism and writing in grade four.
There is a lot of my past to unpack, and a forum about telling the whole story seems like an excellent place to do that. Lets see what happens…