The Storyologist

Welcome to The Storyologist. It's lovely to have you here.

I'm excited to continue my original blog in a slightly different form. I loved my journey with the theme of No Other Day The Same. This forum allowed me to look at every day through the lens of trying to discover what would make it stand out from the rest. I truly enjoyed chronicling my journey. The only snag was that after a while, I got to the point where I would almost stage those moments and they weren't truly genuine. The writing felt stale, and it had to change. 

Ergo, I'm ushering in a new concept in hopes that my writing will feel more aligned. You see, the part I loved the most about No Other Day The Same was getting to share my little stories with you everyday. I've been thinking a lot about stories lately.

Stories have always been transformative for me, granting me the gift of experiencing different viewpoints, ways of life, characters, places and more. I love reading, watching and listening to those stories that take me to other worlds. As Meg Ryan's character in You've Got Mail says, "When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does." I know Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney has formed my identity. Those childhood stories and stories I've read since continue to shape me as a person.

There's another type of story, and that's the stories we hear about people that prevent us from really understanding the truth; the stereotypes, the propaganda, and the biases. I love Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's The Danger of a Single Story because she cautions us against assuming one story can really get to the heart of the matter. Especially in this day and age when it's so easy to accept one story very easily as fact, I believe it's important to seek the deeper story.

There are the stories of who we are, and how we got to where we are today. I love listening to other people's stories. Ever since I can remember I've been listening to stories - stories of incredible courage, joy and greatness. One of my favorite stories is how my grandma snuck her horse named Ol' Doll up a flight of stairs and almost scared my great-grandfather half to death. I love putting the pieces together from stories and thinking about how each story truly is a tiny slice of a whole person. 

Then there are the stories that we tell ourselves that prevent us from taking risks or chances. There's the story that we are running out of time. There's the story that we can't get that job. There's the story that we can't ask for what we want. Those stories are not easily untold. There are some stories that we don't tell at all. The story of the secret desire that we wish for but don't utter aloud for fear of seeming silly or unrealistic. The story of something embarrassing or painful that we want to forget about entirely. Those stories are equally important and sacred. 

So, what's a storyologist exactly? You can't find the term in a dictionary. However, "-ologist" means "a branch of learning" or "a branch of knowledge" or "an expert". I'm skeptical of those who claim to be experts on any subject, however, I'm going to proclaim myself a storyologist simply because I'm a scholar of stories.

I can't wait to see where my new ventures take me as The Storyologist.